U. S. Dept. of Education Awards
Nearly $1 Million for Teaching History
“ Through a Local Lens”
City Schools and TCC partner on “Growing American History
Teacher Scholars”
NORFOLK, PORTSMOUTH, Va., Oct. 17, 2003 — In an innovative
partnership, Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth City Public
Schools and Norfolk Public Schools have won federal funding of
$975,000 for a “Teaching American History Program.” The
groundbreaking initiative will create quality programming for
Portsmouth and Norfolk public schools using local historical
institutions, and pair TCC faculty as “teacher-scholar
trainers” with K-12 teachers over a three-year period.
“This is a remarkable venture that will deepen and enrich
our students’ understanding of American history — fortified
with local history — through concerted preparation of our
social studies teachers,” states David C. Stuckwisch, superintendent
of Portsmouth City Public Schools.
John O. Simpson, superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools, explains, “Norfolk
Public Schools and Portsmouth City Public Schools have partnered
many times in the past. It is my belief that each of these partnerships
has strengthened our two organizations and the communities we
serve . . . In keeping with our instructional focus at Norfolk
Public Schools, this program stresses a pro-active rather than
a reactive approach. I am especially pleased with the strong
accountability component which focuses on raising student achievement.”
TCC President Deborah DiCroce praises the project, citing the
power of collaboration to improve student success. “As
efforts intensify to achieve Virginia’s Standards of Learning,
this program pulls the best minds from our college and area institutions
to work with dedicated teachers in our city schools. Taking collaborative
action is key to improving the success of our youths in an increasingly
knowledge-based world.”
“History is finding its place in the sun like never before — from
the History Channel to the U.S. Congress, which, fortunately,
recognizes the dire need for our children to know their country’s
past,” note TCC history professor Helena Krohn and faculty
member Daniel Lewis, who helped develop the initiative, also
known as Growing American History Teacher Scholars. Lewis, who
has been named program director, will work with TCC professors
to “teach the teachers.”
“This reflects the community college commitment to excellence
in teaching,” adds Krohn.
TCC serves as a key partner in the project due to its primary
mission of teaching; its successful experiences serving high-risk
students; and its success educating industry and government groups.
TCC’s Workforce Development Division, which will coordinate
training arrangements, has an exemplary record of administering
professional development programs for government agencies, private
business, education and the military in the Hampton Roads region.
Growing American History Teacher Scholars will teach national
history “through the lens of the local area’s past,” explains
Lewis. “This area is so rich with roots of American history
that it makes sense to tap our museums, libraries and experts
to contribute to the teachers’ curricula and classroom
materials.” Participating institutions include the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard and Lightship Museum, Portsmouth-based Juneteenth
Festival Company, Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk Public
Library, Hampton University Museum, Mariners’ Museum, The
Civil War at Endview, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia Historical Society and the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Additionally, the three-year program will include ongoing teacher
mentoring, an experimental evaluation system, and a public lecture
series.
The public lecture series, featuring accomplished historians,
will focus on connections between local and national history
and serve as a capstone experience for the teachers. Critically
acclaimed historian Alf Mapp Jr., professor emeritus at Old Dominion
University, will serve as series keynote.
“We’re excited about the long-term potential for
the Growing American History Teacher Scholars program. It will
bring some dynamic resources to the region and to our schools,” says
Superintendent Stuckwisch. “Our teacher-scholars will become
coaches/mentors to other teachers, improving history education
in a self-perpetuating continuum.”
For more information about the Growing American History Teacher
Scholars, visit: http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/legislation.html.
Tidewater Community College, the second largest of Virginia’s
23 community colleges, enrolls more than 34,000 students annually.
It is the 37th largest in the nation’s 1,600 community
college network. TCC enrolled 43 percent of the region’s
residents who attended a college or university in Virginia last
fall.
Founded in 1968 as part of the Virginia Community College System,
the college serves the South Hampton Roads region with campuses
in the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia
Beach, and with a regional Visual Arts Center in Olde Towne,
Portsmouth, the TCC Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center
in Norfolk’s downtown theater district, and the new Advanced
Technology Center in Virginia Beach. For TCC information, call
757-822-1122 or visit online, www.tcc.edu.
Media Contact: Laurie White, Chief Communications
Officer
757-822-1085, LWhite@tcc.edu
Media Contact: Carol Rowe, Portsmouth City School District, 757-393-5142,
carol.rowe@pps.k12.va.us
