National History Teacher of the Year Award

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR THE $10,000 NATIONAL HISTORY TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

 

New York, NY (Date, 2011) – The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is seeking nominations for the annual $10,000 National History Teacher of the Year Award, given to the best American history teacher in the United States. The National History Teacher of the Year is chosen from outstanding history teachers in each state, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Department of Defense Schools.  The award is sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, HISTORY® (the History Channel), and Preserve America. 

 

Nominations for the National History Teacher of the Year can be made by a student, parent, colleague, principal or school administrator familiar with the teacher’s work.  State winners are awarded $1,000 and each winning school receives an archive of books and other resources. Each winner is honored in a ceremony in his or her home state. 

 

Elementary school teachers (K-6) and middle and high school teachers (7-12) will be considered in separate categories, in alternate years.  In 2012, middle and high school teachers (7-12) will be honored.  To be considered for the 2012 award, nominations must be made by February 1, 2012.

 

To nominate a teacher and learn more about the award, visit www.gilderlehrman.org/nhtoy or contact the National History Teacher of the Year coordinator at nhtoy@gilderlehrman.org or 646-366-9666, x28.  You may also contact your state coordinator: name, title, at phone or email. 

 

 

About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization supporting the study and love of American history through a wide range of programs and resources for students, teachers, scholars, and history enthusiasts throughout the nation. Gilder Lehrman creates and works closely with history-focused schools through its Affiliate School Program; organizes teacher seminars and development programs; produces print and digital publications and traveling exhibitions; hosts lectures by eminent historians; administers a History Teacher of the Year Award in every state and US territory; and offers national book prizes. The Gilder Lehrman website, www.gilderlehrman.org, serves as a gateway to American history online with rich resources for educators designed specifically for K–12 teachers and students.

 

About HISTORY®

HISTORY® and HISTORY HD® are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, Brad Meltzer’s Decoded, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America, The President’s Book of Secrets and Life After People. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy® Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's signature initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars.  The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.

 

About Preserve America

Preserve America is a federal partnership program begun in 2003 that encourages and highlights community efforts to preserve and enhance the priceless cultural heritage of the United States as well as associated natural resources. The program’s goals include fostering greater public knowledge of, and appreciation for, the nation’s past and its cultural traditions; encouraging broader support for saving the special places that help document and tell the story of America; strengthening civic pride and participation in ways that help build and sustain communities by preserving, enhancing, and using cultural heritage; and improving local economic vitality and livability through heritage development and heritage tourism. The Preserve America program is administered by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in cooperation with the White House, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

 

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The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

19 West 44th Street, Suite 500

New York, NY 10036

www.gilderlehrman.org

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2011 Winner

 

Upshur Co. Educator Named West Virginia History Teacher of the Year

 


Posted: June 06, 2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Susan Long, a fifth grade teacher at Union Elementary in Upshur County, has been named the 2011 West Virginia History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the History Channel and Preserve America.

 

“Great history teachers like Susan Long take required material and turn it into a personal experience for their students instead of relying on lectures and textbooks," said state Superintendent of Schools Jorea Marple. "We congratulate Susan on this honor.”

 

Long, who has 23 years experience in the classroom, is part of a team of teachers who wrote and received an Innovation Grant for Union Elementary. She also has been a participant in West Virginia’s summer humanities seminars for teachers in 1993, 1996 and 2002.

 

Long will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be in the running to be named the National History Teacher of the Year this fall. Union Elementary School’s library also will receive a core archive of history books and educational materials from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the History Channel. Long also will receive an invitation to a Gilder Lehrman summer seminar and Union Elementary will be named a Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School.

 

“This award gives us the chance to recognize great history teachers across the country,” said Lesley S. Herrmann, executive director of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. “It puts exceptional educators front and center.”

 

Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award is designed to promote, celebrate and encourage the teaching of American history in classrooms across the United States. It honors one exceptional teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory.

 

The 2011 award honors elementary teachers of kindergarten through sixth grade. The selection of the state winner is based upon several criteria, including: at least three years of classroom experience in teaching American history; 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; and evidence of thoughtful assessment of student achievement.

 

For more information, contact Joey Wiseman, social studies coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Education, at (304) 558-558-5325, or the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.