American Promises:
A Teaching American History Program
for K-12 Educators

About the Program
American Promises is a high quality, effective professional development program in traditional American history.  Content is organized around the fundamental themes expressed in America’s founding documents.   This program is aligned with the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks.  Major components are day-long seminars, after school workshops, student programs, and the American Centuries web site.

A Partnership Between Local School Districts
The Center for Teacher Education and Research at Westfield State College
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
The United States Department of Education

Westfield & Partners
Teaching American History 1

Gateway & Partners
Teaching American History 2

Teaching American History Program Contacts:
The Center for Teacher Education and Research at Westfield State College
TAH Program Director:  Priscilla Miller, CENTER, Westfield State College, 577 Western Ave. Westfield, MA 01086, 413-572-8065 pmiller@wsc.ma.edu, Fax: 413-572-8187

TAH Program Coordinator: Kathy Wicks, CENTER, Westfield State College, 577 Western Ave. Westfield, MA 01086, 413-572-8150, kwicks@wsc.ma.edu, Fax: 413-572-8187

The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA)
PVMA TAH Coordinator: Darlene Marshall, 413-774-7476 ext. 32   dmarshall@deerfield.history.museum, Fax: 413-774-2654

The Westfield Public Schools in collaboration with Westfield State College, working with the Public School Districts of Chicopee, Gateway Regional, Hampshire Regional, Southwick-Tolland and Palmer, and in partnership with the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, Massachusetts

Invite local educators to join 

American Promises:
A Teaching American History Program
For K-12 Educators

Teaching American History is a national program to increase teacher knowledge of American History to enable students to become better informed and more involved citizens. Each year, American Promises examines significant issues, episodes and people from the colonial period into the twentieth century in the context of the ideals contained in our Nation’s founding documents: 1) The Promises of the American Revolution: Colonies to Nation; 2) Testing the Promises: The Civil War, Industrialization, and Immigration; and 3) Claiming the Promises: Two World Wars, More Immigration, A New Deal and Civil Rights.  Professional development includes seminars with nationally recognized scholars of American History, meetings with individual teachers, workshops, as well as in-class history presentations and an immersion weekend.  An advisory board guides this federally funded, content-rich program of professional development.

Benefits for Students

Benefits for Teachers and Librarians

There are a limited number of slots for teachers.  If you are interested in learning more, please contact your district representative:                                   
Westfield – Steve Hagen  572-6550                                                            
Hampshire Regional – Tony Ryan 527-7200
Chicopee – Denise Ruszala  594-3458  
Southwick-Tolland – Allison LeClair  569-5951
Gateway Regional – Janice Doppler 685-1007
Palmer – Neil Metcalf  283-2651

If you do not have a district representative, please contact Kathy Wicks, Coordinator, Teaching American History, at     413-572-8150 or at kwicks@wsc.ma.edu

Funded entirely by a $999,650.00 grant from the U.S. Department of Education

REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPANTS
in American Promises

Join us and improve teaching and learning in American History.  The participant requirements below are for year three (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008) of this three-year Teaching American History project.
Three levels of participation are offered.

1. Attend 8 seminars–An Immersion Weekend in October, one in January, one in April, and four in July (see seminar schedule).   Please note: The expectation is that full participants will attend all eight seminars. In extenuating circumstances, full participants may choose to substitute workshops for up to two seminars (3 two-hour workshops = 1 full-day seminar).

The seminars open with morning presentations by scholars. Break-out sessions follow (one in the morning and two after lunch).   They include work with museum staff on primary sources related to the day’s theme, small group discussion with professors, and strategies for classroom integration.

2) Attend 6 after school workshops, one of which will be the Classroom Activity Workshop

3) Develop a plan of 8 - 10 hours of professional development from the following choices:

1. Work with Historians-in-Residence in your classroom – this could include demonstrating strategies for teaching with artifacts or primary documents, co-teaching, or work in reviewing classroom material to find areas where local resources can be integrated.  It may be a ‘one-time’ event or a many day project or unit.
2. Attend content-specific workshops at Westfield State College.
3. Work with project staff to find historic documents from PVMA and other local historical societies to support your teaching (either new or existing units).
4. Receive content-related technology training on use of websites, especially the American Centuries website, www.americancenturies.mass.edu.
5. Arrange training or provide support to other educators.

4) Participate in a History Lab Program conducted in your classroom.  This is an interactive program for teachers led by a PVMA historian in your classroom. This program replaces the History to Go Program.*Participants without their own classroom may share this program with a teacher in their school. Participants with more than one class must choose one class period to receive this program.

5) Create written documentation of learning:
             A short classroom activity (1-2 45 minute classroom periods) based on primary sources, which may include objects and documents featured in the digital collection of PVMA’s American Centuries website (www.americancenturies.mass.edu).   After review by staff, participants may be invited to post their activity in the “Classroom Activities” section of the American Centuries Website.

6) Be available as a resource for your colleagues to access Teaching American History Resources; inform and promote use of Teaching American History resources in your school.
 
7) Actively participate in evaluation of the project (includes completing seminar, workshop, and program evaluation forms, evaluator-led focus groups and classroom observation.)

1) Attend a minimum of 4 seminars - In extenuating circumstances, half participants may choose to substitute workshops for one seminar (3 two-hour workshops = 1 full day seminar).
2) Attend a minimum of 3 after school workshops, one of which will be the Classroom Activity Workshop 
3) Five hours of additional training to be decided and scheduled by participant (as described in #3 under full participation).
4) Participate in a History Lab Program conducted in your classroom (as described in #4 under full participation). This program replaces the History to Go Program.
5) Written Documentation of learning - a short classroom activity based on objects and documents featured in the digital collection of PVMA’s American Centuries website (as described in #5 under full participation.)
6) Actively participate in evaluation of the project. (includes completing seminar, workshop, and program evaluation forms, evaluator-led focus groups and classroom observation.)

Partial (quarter) participation is designed around developing specific content area.
1) Attend a minimum of 1 seminar (see seminar schedule).
2) Attend a minimum of 3 after school workshops, one of which will be the Classroom Activity Workshop 
3) Participate in a History Lab Program conducted in your classroom (as described in #4 under full participation). This program replaces the History to Go Program.
4) Written documentation of learning - a short classroom activity based on objects and documents featured in the digital collection of PVMA’s American Centuries website (as described in #5 under full participation)
5) Actively participate in evaluation of the project. (includes completing seminar, workshop, and program evaluation forms, evaluator-led focus groups and classroom observation.)
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Benefits for Participants

• A PVMA museum teacher will come to your classroom to lead a hands-on activity that incorporates primary sources (History Lab replacing the History to Go)   
• Free teacher materials
• Deerfield Teachers’ Center resources (multimedia lending library, traveling history kits, workshops)
• Free professional development and academic study
• Professional development points (pdps)
• For full participants, three graduate credits are available from Westfield State College.
• Curriculum development support
• Free Memorial Hall Museum passes for students, teachers, and their families
• Honoraria