March 14, 2010
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AIT Partners in Teaching American History Grant
August 2009
AIT is a partner in the Teaching American History grant recently awarded to the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC). MCCSC, in collaboration with Indiana University, the Monroe County Historical Society, and AIT, was awarded $497,917 by the U.S. Department of Education for a three-year professional development proposal entitled “History Educators Project: Teaching American History through the Lens of Indiana.”
“We had a ton of applications, but this was the only such grant awarded to the state of Indiana,” said Andrew Mills, grant coordinator for Sen. Richard Lugar’s office, which helped facilitate the process.
Pat Wilson, who chairs the social studies department at Bloomington High School North, said the project will provide training for teaching traditional United States history in grades 4 through 12. Project materials will also be included in a Web site developed and hosted by AIT. The web site will provide materials for project participants—and will be a resource for all American history teachers.
“AIT’s mission of serving learners clearly is advanced through the professional development of teachers,” said Chuck Wilson, AIT’s Executive Director. “This project brings together a varied and rich group of partners—all working together toward the ultimate goal of helping students learn American history. We at AIT are proud to be a partner in this exciting professional development opportunity for MCCSC teachers.”
The abstract for the project lists nine themes based on identified historical periods and three primary goals: to deepen teachers’ understanding and appreciation of traditional American history, to enhance delivery of history content as a separate subject, and to improve student achievement in history. Wilson feels all are crucial if public schools are to fulfill their role in creating engaged, knowledgeable citizens in a democracy.
Pat Wilson said the grant is especially welcome given that recent steps by the state have eliminated professional development days from Indiana school calendars and that social studies have taken a back seat to the emphasis standardized testing has placed on math, reading, and science.
“That was part of our thinking when we decided to put in for this grant,” she said, noting that 11 people “from across Bloomington’s educational community” were primary contributors. “This is very much needed.”
Lynn Boyle-Baise, IU professor of curriculum and instruction at the school of education, said the grant resulted from a true community collaboration. “We have so many resources and assets and people willing to give their time in this town, which I’m sure was crucial to the success of the grant proposal,” Boyle-Baise said. “It involves the MCCSC, IU’s school of education, IU’s department of history, the Monroe County Historical Society, AIT, and others. It’ll benefit everyone.
“Money for history, social studies, and civics instruction is very hard to come by these days. But a tremendous amount of good will and a year’s worth of coalition building were behind this grant.”
Boyle-Baise, Wilson, and James Madison, IU history professor, were designated “co-leaders” for the project.
New MCCSC Superintendent J.T. Coopman expressed gratitude for the efforts made to win the grant. “Given the lean budget that school districts were afforded in this last legislative session, and the fact they completely struck out professional development opportunities, we could hardly have gotten better news,” Coopman said.