History Programs Overview
In order for students to succeed to their highest potential, they need exceptionally well prepared teachers. The History Programs service of ESD 112 aims to develop the capacity of teachers by deepening their content knowledge and strengthening best practice strategies. This work benefits the 200 schools in six counties serviced by ESD 112. Since 2002, ESD112 has been awarded three Teaching American History Grants by the Department of Education: Constitutional Connections and Causes of Conflict: Digging Deep to Understand American History are our current programs.
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Constitutional ConnectionsSince 2006, Constitutional Connections has challenged teachers to teach US History through the lens of the US Constitution. To deepen their content knowledge, teachers have attended Constitutional Academies with nationally renowned scholars; summer Constitutional Institutes organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation ; and expeditions to James Madison's Montpelier for seminars held at the home of the “Father of the Constitution.” Teachers find community in their efforts to make instruction effective and meaningful through working in History Professional Learning Teams; HPLTs also provide the basis for a sustained focus on student work leading to implementation of Washington 's new Classroom Based Assessments . To date, over 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers have participated in a program that one participant described as “the best and most important professional development program in (her) 35 year career.” Program Partners:Constitutional Rights Foundation Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lectureship Program The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Center for Student Success (Evaluator) |
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Causes of ConflictESD 112's newest Teaching American History project is Causes of Conflict: Digging Deep to Understand American History. Awarded in 2008, this project will lead teachers' examination of three critical conflicts in US history: The Civil Rights Movement, the Civil War, and the Revolution. In studying each of these three episodes, participants will attend Seminars with Scholars examining the legal, economic, and social histories of the conflicts; History on Location Expeditions, studying the conflict in nationally and locally significant historic sites; and the Reading History Workshop Series, focusing on the literacy skills demanded in the teaching and learning of History and the Washington CBAs. Program Partners:The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
Upcoming Events:
Causes of Conflict 2009 Summer Institute
August 10 – 14, 2009
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Educational Service District 112
This institute will explore the roots of the Civil War, focusing on the seeds of sectionalism present in the nation’s founding, the slave debate, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the role of the West. This program engages us with the historical content through working with three outstanding scholars, each representing different perspectives:
- Spencer Crew, currently Professor of American, African American, and Public History at George Mason University, is the former director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History;
- Paul Finkelman, Professor of Law and Public Policy at Albany Law School, is a specialist in American legal history, race, and the law; and
- Jenny B. Wahl, Professor of Economics at Carleton College, is the author of The Bondsman's Burden: An Economic Analysis of the Common Law of Southern Slavery.
Guiding our work in classroom implementation will be professors Rich Christen and Peter Thacker of the University of Portland. A draft of the timed agenda is posted here for your consideration.
Space is limited and advanced registration is required. While the institute will launch the Causes of Conflict 2009-2010 cohort, a year-long program for which teachers have already applied and no spots remain, the program is open to other interested teachers. The program is entirely free, lunches will be provided, and clock hours will be available. Mileage costs to and from the program will be reimbursed and, if you’re traveling a distance of greater than 125 miles round trip, double occupancy hotel rooms will be provided upon request (if you’d like to take advantage of this offer, please contact me at your earliest opportunity). Teachers who register in advance will be supplied with supplementary texts until supplies run out. If you’d like to join us, please contact Matt Karlsen at your earliest convenience.