Ed. Dept. Unveils New Round of Teaching U.S. History Grants Learning Process

Ed. Dept. Unveils New Round of Teaching U.S. History Grants

Written on August 9, 2010 – 2:39 am | by Justin Fraser

The U.S. Department of Education has announced the recipients of $115 million in three-year grants to promote the teaching of American history. The money will reach 124 school districts in 40 states, plus the District of Columbia and American Samoa.

“The Teaching American History grant program aims to enhance teachers’ understanding of U.S. history through intensive professional development, including study trips to historic sites and mentoring with professional historians and other experts,” the department’s press release explains. “Projects are required to partner with organizations that have broad knowledge of American history, such as libraries, museums, nonprofit historical or humanities organizations, and higher education institutions.”

The South Burlington school district in Vermont, for one, is getting nearly $1 million under the program, as is the Hamilton City School District in Hamilton, Ohio (where, incidentally, the federal No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law in January 2002).

Meanwhile, the Goshen Community School Corp. in Goshen, Ind., is receiving a grant of about $500,000, as is the Monroe County school district in Key West, Fla.

I should note that as part of its pending budget request for fiscal 2011, the Obama administration has proposed to consolidate funding for the Teaching American History grants programas well as some other existing programs, such as civics and arts educationinto a larger competitive funding stream dubbed “Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded Education.” For more on that proposal, check out this blog post from earlier this year.

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