The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a 2006 Teaching American History grant in the amount of $995,679 to the Upstate New York American History Education Alliance. Starting in October, the Alliance will be working with a consortium of 14 school districts on a three-year project to improve the quality of American history instruction in their middle schools. This highly competitive grant, the Alliance’s second in four years, is one of only 124 such grants awarded in 38 states nationwide. The Alliance was formed in 2002 and is a collaboration of four regional BOCES, Union College, New York State Historical Association, Greater Capital Region Teachers Center, and the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission.
The Alliance will be working with 7th and 8th grade American history teachers from the following school districts:
| Albany City School District |
| Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District |
| Duanesburg Central School District |
| Mohonasen Central School District |
| Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District |
| Schenectady City School District |
| Shenendehowa Central School District |
| South Colonie Central School District |
| Greater Amsterdam School District |
| Northville Central School |
| Averill Park Central School District |
| Catskill Central School District- Mr. Crocetta and Mr. Taylor |
| Mechanicville City School District |
| Queensbury Union Free School District |
Throughout each of the three years of the project, the 28 teachers who have been selected to be Lead Teachers will participate in after-school and Saturday workshops, and annual four-week summer institutes where they will work with locally and nationally recognized historians. These professional development activities will focus on American history content taught at the middle school level, with the Lead Teachers then translating them into lesson plans and units of instruction that they will share with their colleagues in their schools and throughout the region.
During this project, professional development activities will be focused on over 80 American history teachers from consortium middle schools, as well as hundreds more who attend regional professional development presentations or access this Web site. As a result, the project will improve the quality of American history instruction and lead to improved achievement for middle school students.
In presenting the award to the Alliance, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings described its importance in this way: “Our nation's founding fathers believed the study of history and citizenship should be at the core of every American's education. Yet, with studies showing less than one-quarter of American students are proficient in either subject, far too few are learning the lessons vital to life in our democratic society. History education under No Child Left Behind is essential to help students gain an understanding and appreciation of our nation's history and government and to help them become active, informed participants in our nation's future.”
Teaching of American History Project
Capital Region BOCES
900 Watervliet Shaker Road, Suite 102
Albany, NY
12205
Click to View website: http://unyahea.org/