A New NEH Professional Development Opportunity

During the summer of 2004, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will offer a new series of professional development programs, Landmarks of American History Workshops for School Teachers. These week-long, residence-based programs provide the opportunity for K-12 educators to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics in American history at major historical sites around the nation. Full-time teachers in American K-12 schools, whether public, public charter, private, or religiously-affiliated are eligible to participate, as well as home-schooling parents. Other K-12 school personnel, including administrators, substitute teachers, classroom paraprofessionals, and librarians are also eligible to participate, subject to available space. Teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $500 to help cover living expenses and supplies: travel supplements for educators traveling long distances will be available and allocated after participants are selected.

Landmarks Workshops are designed to give participants direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical sites and the use of archival and other primary historical evidence. They include the best scholarship on a specific landmark or related cluster of landmarks, enabling participants to gain a sense of the importance of historical places, to make connections between what they learn in the Workshop and what they teach, and to develop teaching materials for their classrooms. Landmarks Workshops for the summer of 2004 include Mt. Vernon and the Shaping of the U.S. Constitution; History, Memory, and Memorial at Pearl Harbor; Alabama's Civil Rights Monuments; the United States Capitol; Fort Robinson, Nebraska and the Great Plains; Salem, Massachusetts 1801-1861; Portsmouth, New Hampshire and American Identity; Savannah's Three-Century History; Black Artisans and Entrepreneurs of Antebellum North Carolina; Encounters and Change in 17th century Plymouth, and many others.

For full listings, eligibility requirements, and application instructions, please see http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks.html

These listings contain project titles and the means to contact each Landmarks Workshop director. In response to a request for information, workshop directors will send a letter describing the content, logistics, and expectations of that project. Requests for information and completed applications should NOT be directed to the National Endowment for the Humanities; they should be addressed to the individual projects as found in the listings. General questions concerning the Landmarks of American History program may be directed to the NEH Division of Education Programs. (202-606-8463 or e-mail: sem-inst@neh.gov).

The deadline for applications is March 15, 2004.