SALEM in History (2003-2006)

(For Complete Draft of Grant Narrative, Click Here)

Salem Public Schools (SPS), in partnership with the Salem State College Department of History (SSC), the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), and the National Park Service (NPS), will present SALEM in History, a project designed to increase teachers’ knowledge, understanding and appreciation of American history through an intensive, ongoing professional development program. By involving all of the district’s elementary, middle and high school American history teachers, this program will contribute to a renewal of American history in a significant urban school district and will lead to increased student interest and achievement in American history courses.

Over three years, SALEM In History will increase teachers’ understanding of six core themes in American history. The program has three major components: monthly seminars, summer institutes, and a web-based resource center. Held throughout the school year, the SSC-led monthly seminars will introduce teachers to significant readings and ideas related to four of the six core themes. Teachers will receive three hours of graduate credit for their participation. During the summers, these same teachers will receive an additional three hours of graduate credit for completing intensive workshops that concentrate on two remaining core themes. Teachers will use their enhanced content knowledge and the PEM’s and NPS’s archival and material resources to create curricular materials that they will share with their colleagues in print form and on the project web site.  A full-time Project Director and Museum Educator will guide them as they translate their new knowledge of American history into engaging and informative lessons.

This project will have a long-term impact on the district and the state because it is inherently sustainable. The web site offers immediate dissemination possibilities and will allow teachers to benefit from the project even after funding ends. Moreover, the timing of the grant coincides with the introduction of a new set of statewide standards for history and social studies, allowing participating teachers to imbed the project’s content and curricular advances within the district’s curriculum guides so that teachers and students will benefit for many years to come.

SALEM in History will succeed because it combines the rich resources of four fully committed partners. SSC’s American history faculty has earned a national reputation for scholarly excellence and has helped the department receive recognition as one of Salem State’s most effective teaching departments. In addition to vast archival and material holdings, the PEM and the NPS have staffs with extensive experience helping the state’s teachers and students interpret primary sources. SPS has leadership in place that is excited to seize this opportunity to help their teachers and students. These four institutions share a commitment to improving American history education and are eager to help teachers make history exciting and challenging in Salem’s classrooms.