From the archiveRERF home page, last updated March 2007
Richmond Early Reading First
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Richmond Early Reading First (RERF), an interdisciplinary, university-community partnership, enhances the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Head Start program by developing centers of excellence that provide high quality preschool education and serve as permanent models of scientifically based early literacy instruction in Virginia. This partnership includes the VCU School of Social Work (Head Start), the Literacy Institute at VCU, and the VCU School of Education (Departments of Teaching and Learning, Special Education and Disability Policy, and the Training and Technical Assistance Center). Through the use of instructional strategies and curricula selected from scientifically based reading research, staff-development-improved literacy environments, and increased family involvement, the RERF program promotes preschoolers’ successful transition to kindergarten with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for optimal reading development.
The goals of RERF are to:
- Provide 3- to 5-year-old children with high quality, literacy-rich learning environments in which they can develop skills needed for successful transition into kindergarten
- Provide ongoing professional development and mentoring for preschool teachers so that they can gain mastery of research-based theory and instruction
- Engage parents in training and consultation activities that help them gain knowledge and experience with early reading strategies they can use with their children at home
- Conduct assessment and evaluation to identify children at risk for reading difficulties and to support literacy learning for all of the children in the program
The Richmond Early Reading First program is funded by a grant from the US Department of Education Early Reading First program.
Other Institute projects, for adults as well as children, are listed on the projects page.
Added in 2026: the three Richmond grants
| Project | What the site says | Size |
|---|---|---|
| RERF | First grant, with VCU Head Start; Mark Emblidge, Joan Rhodes and Evelyn Reed-Victor as co-principal investigators | $3.7 million (2007 bio) |
| PEELLS | Second grant; coordinator Barbara Havens, five literacy coaches (2010 roster) | about $4.49 million |
| SEELLS | Third grant, announced September 2008, five Richmond Public Schools Head Start sites, about 13 classrooms and 236 children | $4.49 million |
The overview page put the three grants together at nearly $12.5 million; the 2008 press release said $12.3 million. What the federal evaluation of Early Reading First found, and what parents can take from it, is in the Field Note Early Reading First: what the preschool grants taught.
Questions readers ask
What was Richmond Early Reading First?
A university and community partnership funded by a federal Early Reading First grant. It worked with the VCU Head Start program to turn preschool classrooms into models of research-based early literacy teaching.
Who was in the partnership?
The VCU School of Social Work (which ran Head Start), the Literacy Institute at VCU, and the VCU School of Education through its Departments of Teaching and Learning and of Special Education and Disability Policy and its Training and Technical Assistance Center.
What age group did it serve?
Children from three to five years old, with the aim of preparing them for kindergarten.