The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America announce the 2008 History Teacher of the Year.

2008 Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award winner David Mitchell of Massachusetts with First Lady Laura Bush and Gilder Lehrman Institute President James Basker at the History Teacher of the Year Award ceremony in New York.

"Dave’s always searching for new chances to teach and to learn. For him, sharing the love of history is a calling. And Dave’s enthusiastic teaching is putting his students on the path to success," Mrs. Bush said.

Mitchell’s own philosophy of teaching history through the use of authentic original sources states: “These documents, photos, cartoons, and letters are still living and this life … helps our students feel the pulse of history.”

Mitchell began his teaching career as part of the Teach for America Program. He taught in Los Angeles and Baltimore before coming to Masconomet High School in 1995 with an undergraduate degree and since has earned two masters degrees while tirelessly working to improve educational opportunities for students and mentor many colleagues. His extensive professional and civic involvement attest to his not merely teaching from an academic perspective but setting a personal example of the necessity to be actively involved in order to build a better society.

2008 is the fifth year that the administration’s Preserve America initiative and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History have partnered to present the “Preserve America History Teacher of the Year” award. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history and serves teachers, students, scholars, and the general public. Earlier this year, finalists were selected from each state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. Territories in the Pacific. The national “Preserve America History Teacher of the Year” is selected from the state and territorial winners. Each state winner receives $1,000 and an archive of books and educational resources for his or her school’s library. For more information about the Gilder Lehrman Institute, please visit www.gilderlehrman.org.

Preserve America is a White House initiative created for the purpose of encouraging and supporting community efforts to preserve and enjoy the nation’s cultural and national heritage. The overall goals of the Preserve America initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past; strengthened regional identities and local pride; increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets; and support for the economic vitality of communities.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and other federal agencies partner to administer the various components of Preserve America. For more information, please visit www.PreserveAmerica.gov.

2009 HISTORY TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announces the sixth annual History Teacher of the Year Award, which honors outstanding teachers of American history across the country. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, founded in 1994, promotes the study and love of American history. The Institute is renowned for its scholarly seminars for K-12 teachers and National Park Service interpreters. In 2009, the Institute will offer forty seminars for nearly 1,200 teachers at institutions throughout the United States and Great Britain. For more information on the seminars please visit www.gilderlehrman.org

The History Teacher of the Year Award recognizes outstanding American history teachers from elementary school through high school, and the crucial importance of American history education. Finalists are selected from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools, and U.S. Territories. From these local winners, a national honoree is recognized as the National History Teacher of the Year.

Winners will be chosen based on several criteria.

Qualifying Criteria
• At least three years of classroom experience in teaching American history in an elementary school.

• A deep career commitment to teaching American history, which includes local and state history.

• Evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom that address literacy and content beyond state standards.

• Close attention to primary documents, artifacts, historic sites, and other primary materials of history, including oral history.

• Evidence of thoughtful assessment of student achievement.

Eligibility
• Any full-time elementary school teacher may be nominated who teaches American history (including local and state history) as his or her primary subject, or one of the subjects they are responsible for in the classroom.

• Any full-time elementary school teacher may be nominated who focuses on American history within the framework of their school program.

Procedure

First Round: Nominations

Submit the following:

• The nominee’s resume.

• A full letter of nomination that addresses the award criteria and includes quantitative measures of student achievement. Nominations can be made by a department or division head, a school director, social studies director, principal or superintendent. Nominations from friends, family and students will also be accepted.

• A letter of support from a colleague, immediate supervisor, or education professional familiar with the nominee’s work.

Second Round: Additional Materials for Consideration

From this pool of nominations, the state coordinators will select up to five finalists who will be asked to submit additional materials that include:

o A one-page statement of the nominee’s philosophy of teaching American history.

o A sample lesson plan, no longer than 3 pages. Primary document attachments are not included in the page limitation.

o A sample extended project assigned to students, demonstrating use of primary documents, artifacts, historic sites, etc. Nominees can include up to ten pages of student work in this category.

o An 8-10 minute video, which is not a class session, but a segment during which the nominee demonstrates class projects, and discusses his or her most effective teaching practices, and how student achievement is assessed. Students are not present in the video. A sample of a video submission can be viewed here:

Windows Media Player may be required for viewing. Click here to download Windows Media Player.

Douglas StanWiens Timberline High School Boise, ID

A complete application for the History Teacher of the Year Award will include all materials from both the first and second round of the state award process.

Please submit an original and three copies of all materials.

Deadline
Nomination deadlines may vary state to state. Please contact your state coordinator for information.

Awards
State winners will be announced and honored at local ceremonies. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History honors each state winner with an award of $1,000. The Institute also presents the winner’s school with an archive of primary historical materials, named in honor of that teacher, for use in the school library or resource center. Winners are selected in each state by panels of distinguished history educators under the supervision of the Gilder Lehrman Institute. State winners entering on the National level should submit their application in its original format.

The National History Teacher of the Year is selected from the 50+ state winners, (including the District of Columbia, Department of Defense and U.S. Territories) by a panel of prominent historians. The 2009 national winner will be honored in a fall ceremony in New York City. The winner, together with the nominating supervisor, will travel to the national recognition ceremony with expenses paid by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Submitting Nominations
Additional guidelines and information can be found at www.gilderlehrman.org

Any questions about eligibility or procedures should be addressed to the national award coordinator:

HTOY Coordinator
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
19 West 44th Street, Suite 500
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (646) 366-9666
Email: htoy@gilderlehrman.org


2008 State Winners and Current State Coordinators

• Alabama
  Winner: Diane Blocker, Huntsville High School, Huntsville
  State Coordinator: Carolyn Townsend (ctownsend@alsde.edu)
• Alaska
  State Coordinator: Steve Ex (Ex_Steve@asdk12.org)
• Arizona
  Winner: Gina Bedene, Mountain Ridge High School, Phoenix
  State Coordinator: Adria Lugo (adria.lugo@azed.gov)
• Arkansas
  Winner: Billie J. Handly, Star City High School, Star City
  State Coordinator: Maggie Herrick (Margaret.herrick@arkansas.gov)
• California
  Winner: Kirk S. Goddard, Jacoby Creek School, McKinleyville
  State Coordinator (Northern California): Jack Bareilles (jbareilles@nohom.k12.ca.us)
  State Coordinator (Southern California): Linda Mehlbrech (lmehlbrech@lbschools.net)
• Colorado
  Winner: Frank E. Deserino, South High School, Denver
• Connecticut
  Winner: Tracey Wilson, Conard High School, West Hartford
• Delaware
  Winner: Robert J. Lingenfelter, Skyline Middle School, Wilmington
  State Coordinator: Preston Shockley (pshockley@doe.k12.de.us)
• District of Columbia
  Winner: Cosby Hunt, Columbia Heights Education Center
  District Coordinator: Jesse Nickelson (jesse.nickelson@dc.gov)
• Florida
  Winner: Delia Chacon, Oak Ridge High School, Orlando
  State Coordinator: Levon Terrell (Levon.Terrell@fldoe.org)
• Georgia
  State Coordinator: Peggy Caldwell (peggycaldwell@tds.net)
• Hawaii
  Winner: Cynthia Tong, Mililani High School, Mililani
  State Coordinator: Robert Buss (rbuss@hihumanities.org)
• Idaho
  Winner: Douglas P. StanWiens, Timberline High School, Boise
  State Coordinator: Russ Heller (russ.heller@boiseschools.org)
• Illinois
  Winner: Cynthia Lightle, Maud Griggsville-Perry CUSD #4, Griggsville
  State Coordinator: Mike Hatfill (dhatfill@isbe.net)
• Indiana
  Winner: Tom Haywood, Indian Creek Middle School, Trafalgar
  State Coordinator: Don Adams (bethelpond@gmail.com)
• Iowa
  Winner: Gina Hanna, Prairie Central Springs Middle School, Nora Springs
  State Coordinator: Tom Connors (thomas.connors@cfu-cybernet.net)
• Kansas
  Winner: Timothy J. Warsnak, USD 440 Halstead-Bentley, Halstead
  State Coordinator: Glenn Wiebe (glennw@essdack.org)
• Kentucky
  Winner: Keely C.J. Green, North Oldham Middle School, Goshen
  State Coordinator: Rebecca Hanly (Rebecca.hanly@ky.gov)
• Louisiana
  Winner: Jennifer Johnson-Velasquez, Trinity Episcopal School, New Orleans
• Maine
  Winners: Diana Dionne-Morang, Gardiner Regional Middle School, Gardiner
  State Coordinator: Carolin Collins (ccollins@mainehistory.org)
• Maryland
  Winner: Thomas Acampora, Baltimore Talent Development High School, Baltimore
  State Coordinator: Donna Olszewski (dolszewski@msde.state.md.us)
• Massachusetts
  Winner: David B. Mitchell, Masconomet Regional High School, Topsfield
  State Coordinator: Deborah Walker (djwalker@doe.mass.edu)
• Michigan
  Winner: Karen Lessenberry, Wylie E. Groves High School, Beverly Hills
  State Coordinator: Gordon Andrews (gandrews@portageps.org)
• Minnesota
  Winner: Jerry L. Benson, Luverne Middle/High School, Luverne
  State Coordinator: Michael Foster (michael.foster@state.mn.us)
• Mississippi
  Winner: Charles M. Yarborough, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Columbus
  State Coordinator: Chauncey Spears (CRSpears@mde.k12.ms.us)
• Missouri
  Winner: Terence M. Verstraete, Webster Groves High School, Webster Groves
  State Coordinator: William Gerling (bill.gerling@dese.mo.gov)
• Montana
  State Coordinator: John Gallagher (john.gallagher@bsd7.org)
• Nebraska
  Winner: James Bates, Wilber-Clatonia High School, Wilber
  State Coordinator: Larry Starr (larry.starr@nde.ne.gov)
• Nevada
  Winner: Jeffrey A. Hinton, Sierra Vista High School, Las Vegas
  State Coordinator: Susan Davis (shdavis@washoe.k12.nv.us)
• New Hampshire
  Winner: Caroline E. Storrs, Cornish School, Cornish
  State Coordinator: John Krueckeberg (jkrueckeberg@plymouth.edu)
• New Jersey
  Winner: Glenn Healy, Marlboro Memorial Middle School, Morganville
  State Coordinator: John Dougherty (john.dougherty@doe.state.nj.us)
• New York
  Winner: Henry Dircks, W.C. Mepham High School, Bellmore
  State Coordinator: Gloria Sesso (gsesso@pmschools.org)
• North Carolina
  Winner: Thomas D. Perry, South Caldwell High School, Hudson
  State Coordinator: Jolene Etheridge (Jethridge@dpi.state.nc.us)
• North Dakota
  Winner: Keith W. Thompson, A.L. Hagen High School, Dickinson
  State Coordinator: Kimberly Porter (kimberly_porter@und.nodak.edu)
• Ohio
  State Coordinator: Roger Beckett (rbeckett@ashland.edu)
• Oklahoma
  Winner: Ann Kennedy, Southeast High School, Oklahoma City
  State Coordinator: Kelly Curtright (kelly_curtright@sde.state.ok.us)
• Oregon
  Winner: Ernest L. Sowards, William Lord High School, Woodburn
  State Coordinator: Andrea Morgan (andrea.morgan@state.or.us)
• Pennsylvania
  Winner: Mark Wallace, Gateway High School, Monroeville
  State Coordinator: Jeffrey Zeiders (jzeiders@state.pa.us)
• Rhode Island
  Winner: Teresa Moran, Winman Junior High School, Providence
  State Coordinator: Marie Parys (mparys@rihs.org)
• South Carolina
  Winner: Perry McLeod, Richland Northeast High School, Columbia
  State Coordinator: James Bryan (palmettoguard@sc.rr.com)
• South Dakota
  Winner: Stephanie Kaufman, Sturgis Brown High School, Sturgis
  State Coordinator: Erin Larsen (erin.larsen@state.sd.us)
• Tennessee
  Winner: Henry Camp, Sequatchie County High School, Dunlap
  State Coordinator: Rebecca Verner (rebecca.verner@mnps.org)
• Texas
  Winner: Helen Bradley, Nimitz High School, Irving
  State Coordinator: Judy Brodigan (judybrodigan@hotmail.com)
• Utah
  Winner: Steven Miller, Kearns High School, West Jordan
  State Coordinator: Tom Sutton (tom.sutton@schools.utah.gov)
• Vermont
  Winner: Craig W. Willey, Mill River Union High School, North Clarendon
  State Coordinator: Mike Austin (Mike.Austin@castleton.edu)
• Virginia
  Winner: Candace Schafer-Southard, Warhill High School, Warhill
  State Coordinator: Betsy S. Barton (betsy.barton@doe.virginia.gov)
• Washington State
  Winner: Mary Elizabeth Gottschalk, Assumption Catholic School, Bellingham
  State Coordinator: Caleb Perkins (Caleb.Perkins@k12.wa.us)
• West Virginia
  Winner: Stanley Ray Duncan, Summers County High School, Hinton
  State Coordinator: Regina Scotchie (escotchi@access.k12.wv.us)
• Wisconsin
  Winner: John DeRose, Whitefish Bay High School, Whitefish Bay
  State Coordinator: Walter Herscher (herscherw@aol.com)
• Wyoming
  Winner: Sheila M. Munger, Newcastle Middle School, Newcastle
  State Coordinator: Sherry Tavegie (wga@uwyo.edu)
• U.S. Virgin Islands
  State Coordinator: Annie Smith (asmith1@sttj.k12.vi)
• U.S. Territories
  Territories Coordinator: Bernadette Eshima (eshimab@prel.org)
• Department of Defense Education Agency
  Winner: Patricia Robblee, Lejeune High School, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
  State Coordinator: Dr. Mark Bignell (Mark.Bignell@hq.dodea.edu)