NORF

Northside Reading Foundations (NoRF) is a joint project of the Virginia Literacy Foundation and the Partnership for Families Northside with funding provided by the Robins Foundation. The program uses research-based approaches to promote the development and school readiness skills of preschool children by enhancing both home and classroom learning environments through ongoing training to parents and the teachers.

NoRF, a family-and-community-focused literacy program, hosts monthly family events providing families the opportunity to eat a meal together, attend workshops designed to enhance family literacy, and to engage in literacy activities. Materials such as books, writing tools, and literacy games are provided to help promote a literacy-rich environment in the home. The Raising a Reader program provides culturally diverse picture books which are sent home with the children on a rotating basis with incentives provided to encourage visits to the local library. Early literacy specialists provide monthly formal training workshops for the preschool teachers and school administrators, as well as ongoing literacy coaching sessions for the teachers to facilitate literacy-rich, family friendly classroom environments. Currently, NoRF serves three classrooms with plans to expand to six classrooms for the 2009-2010 school year.