Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation

Torino Foundation Classroom

Classroom Hours:
Monday through Thursday. See NCCF Calendar for Tutoring Times.

Classroom Staff: Dr. Alvin Matthews, Director of Education, may be contacted at the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation by calling 702.735.8434.

In 2008, NCCF began the In-Patient Education Services program, which includes a school room and continued education for children that suffer from life threatening illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, and immune related diseases. The Torino Foundation Classroom’s home is on the 5th floor pediatric oncology unit at Sunrise Children’s Hospital and has been named after its funding donor Brett Torino and the Torino Foundation. Its creation is designed to help critically ill children keep up on their schoolwork during the treatment and recovery from their illness, the classroom is a full-time, four-day-per-week elementary and secondary classroom for PreK-12 grade students who are patients.

Several years ago, the NCCF initiated research, which discovered that education stood out significantly among primary factors, such as family life and finances, that most impact a child’s quality of life during treatment. The Torino Foundation Classroom is an integral component of the NCCF and Torino Foundation Educational Services Program, which provides normalcy and empowerment for children whose lives have been changed due to a critical illness.

The classroom is the community partnership of four entities. Underwritten by the Torino Foundation and housed on the Pediatric Oncology floor of Sunrise Children’s Hospital, the classroom is an educational services program created and facilitated by the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF).  The curriculum, which is coordinated with the daily curricula of the Clark County School District, is individually based and focuses on student’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses.

The Torino Foundation Classroom is a 340-square-foot educational facility equipped with school supplies, Apple I-Pads, computers, a DVD player, wall screen and state-of-the-art education tools. It is the only classroom in the nation that is managed and staffed by a non-profit organization.