Responsive Classroom Awarded $250,000 Grant by NoVo Foundation Français

TURNERS FALLS, Mass., Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. (NEFC), developer of the Responsive Classroom® approach to elementary education, has been awarded a $250,000 Scaling Grant for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Program Providers by the NoVo Foundation.

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The NoVo Foundation believes that social and emotional learning programs, when scaled up, can play a significant role in creating a global shift from a culture of violence, domination, and exploitation to one of collaboration and partnership. The grant will enable NEFC to create plans for bringing its research-backed Responsive Classroom approach to more large U.S. school districts.

"We are thrilled to receive this grant from NoVo," said NEFC Executive Director Lora Hodges. "It allows us to scale up our efforts in helping the nation's largest school districts create and sustain optimal learning environments and deliver a high-quality education to every student. We will build on our successes over the past thirty years and increase our capacity to provide ongoing training to large districts by designing a flexible, comprehensive district-wide framework that uses a wide range of delivery methods."

The NoVo grant has been awarded to NEFC just as preliminary results from the three-year Responsive Classroom Efficacy Study are being published. These results show improved academic achievement in math and reading and better student-teacher interactions from use of Responsive Classroom teaching practices. NEFC will now be able to further develop its capacity to deliver high-impact, high-quality professional development to educators in the nation's largest school districts and help them sustain their Responsive Classroom initiatives. The annual Responsive Classroom Leadership Conference (in Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 18 and 19, 2013) will focus on NEFC's expanded work in school districts. School and district leaders will have a unique opportunity to share and learn about best practices for successfully implementing this proven approach to integrating academic, social, and emotional learning in their elementary schools.

In granting the award to NEFC, Jennifer Buffett, president and co-chair of the NoVo Foundation, said, "NoVo Foundation is excited to partner with the Northeast Foundation for Children as part of our Growth and Scaling Grants Program for evidence-based providers of social and emotional learning programming. We look forward to supporting their planning to grow Responsive Classroom in order to reach many more teachers and students."

About Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. and the Responsive Classroom® approach
The not-for-profit Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. (NEFC) was established in 1981 by elementary school educators who envisioned a way of teaching that would bring together academic and social learning throughout the school day. That way of teaching, called the Responsive Classroom approach, is now being used in schools across the country. It has been recognized by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as one of 23 effective social-emotional learning programs. NEFC offers Responsive Classroom  on-site consulting services to schools and districts; workshops and institutes for educators in locations around the country; and numerous books, videos, and other resources for teachers and administrators.

For more information, visit www.responsiveclassroom.org.

SOURCE Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.