Elizabeth Norford
3571 Norford Lane
Charlottesville, VA 22911
(434) 973-8627
bnorford@mac.com
OBJECTIVE
To work with schools in the United States and worldwide to develop effective, child-centered curriculum and to empower teachers
through training, networking and support.
EDUCATION
American Institute of Indian Studies, Lucknow, India
Intensive Urdu Language Program, Summer 2008
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Central Virginia Summer Writer’s Institute, Writing for Teachers, K-12, Summer 1996
Bank Street College of Education, New York, NY
M.S.Ed, Thesis: Children’s Writing: Revision and Cognitive Development, 1989
American Institute of Indian Studies, New Delhi, India
Academic Year Hindi Language Program, 1984 – 1985
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology, 1984
Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, India
College Semester Abroad Program with a focus on Gandhian Studies, under the auspices of the Experiment In International
Living, Spring, 1983
Woodstock School, Mussoorie, India
High School Diploma, 1980
WORK EXPERIENCE
Rato Bangala Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal
Consultant, September 2008 to Present
• Responsible for grant-seeking and planning of future projects for a foundation which provides teacher training in
government schools throughout Nepal in collaboration with Kathmandu University and Bank Street College of Education.
The foundation also operates a press publishing original childrens’ literature in Nepali, English and regional languages
and provides hands-on learning materials to schools throughout the country.
Hoshyar Foundation, Austin, TX
Consultant, September 2008 to Present
• Continuing work with a foundation aimed at increasing literacy and access to basic education for Pakistani children,
particularly girls.
• Visited the Al-Hamd school in Lahore, Pakistan with the foundation’s director for the purposes of observation and
assessment of future needs and development objectives.
• Participated in ongoing work as an independent consultant with Hoshyar to secure funding and implement identified
objectives.
Acharya Narendra Deva Academy, Lucknow, India
Volunteer, Summer 2008
• Developed and implemented an English language curriculum for grades six, seven and eight in a Hindi-medium school
serving an economically disadvantaged population. Children composed, shared and revised stories and then made books
using locally available materials for binding and illustrating.
Rato Bangala School, Kathmandu, Nepal
Consultant/Teacher, 1991 – 1993
• Worked with a Nepali family and secured funding to help found a progressive K-12 school in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Conceived and implemented the school’s first teacher training program in preparation for their inaugural year. Training
involved work and discussion in the areas of educational philosophy, language arts, mathematics, science and social
studies
• Created and nurtured a collaborative relationship between the Rato Bangala School and the Bank Street College of
Education in New York City, which involved ongoing exchange of teachers and site visits by professors and educational
professionals.
Bank Street College of Education, New York, NY
Head Teacher, 1986 – 1989, 1990 – 1992
• Planned and implemented curriculum in all academic subject areas in a second/third grade classroom. Bank Street is a
progressive laboratory school that emphasizes child-centered, interdisciplinary and participatory learning.
• Worked with student teachers and advisors to build curriculum development and classroom management skills.
• Hosted visiting educators from around the world for observation and discussion of Bank Street’s pedagogical principles
and practices.
International Community School of Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa
Second/Third Grade Teacher, 1989 – 1990
• Taught all academic subject areas in an international environment in the city of Abidjan
SKILLS & INTERESTS
Languages: Advanced Hindi and Urdu, Intermediate French
Interests: Fiction Writing, Record Collecting/Trading