A cohort of elementary and middle school American history teachers will take part in up to five years of intensive staff development and, as a result, will increase their knowledge and level of instruction and thus the performance of their students. As teacher leaders, they will also gain content and strategies for delivering professional development to their colleagues. Teachers in this intensive and ongoing program will learn from some of the nation’s top American historians and be exposed to a myriad of documents, books, artifacts, landmarks, and museums and strategies for using them to bring American history to life and make it meaningful for students.

Beginning with a Summer Institute in July, 2010, we will explore the theme The American Dream Begins. Teachers will focus on Native Americans living on the East Coast before and during the arrival of the Europeans. On Election Day in 2010, teachers will study colonial America and, with the support of mentors, conduct research on this topic. During the February Institute, we will focus on the American Revolution, including Patriots vs. Loyalists, the role of women, New York City, and prisoners of war. Grant partners will work with teachers on conducting research on this topic as well as using technology to bring the content to their students. At the Spring Institute we will explore the topic of free and enslaved African Americans in New York in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Teachers will develop a standards-based “vertical” curriculum plan on this topic.

Beginning in the summer of 2011, we will move to the theme The American Dream is Challenged to study westward expansion, slavery and resistance, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Along with partner-led workshops, historians will bring these topics to teachers in interactive, engaging lectures. During the 2011 Summer Institute, teachers will study the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, and the opening of the Erie Canal. Teachers will learn additional strategies for bringing this topic to students in content-rich, engaging lessons. During the Election Day session, teachers will learn about the Indian Removal Act, Trail of Tears, and Manifest Destiny. At the 2012 February Institute, we will cover slavery and resistance and the Civil War, work with partners to develop research project assignments for students, and develop technology skills. At the 2012 Spring Conference, teachers will study Reconstruction and work together to develop lessons.

Next, examining The American Dream and the Development of Modern America, teachers will hear from experts in the field on immigration during the 2012 Summer Institute, the Great Migration during the Election Day session, industrialization at the 2013 February Institute, and free trade and monopolies at the 2013 Spring Institute. In addition, Teacher Leaders will participate in hands-on workshops with grant partners and will develop and present their own workshops at the Spring Conference.

Beginning in the summer of 2014, we will explore the theme of The American Dream in Contemporary America. Historians with expertise in this era will discuss the Civil Rights Movement at the 2013 Summer Institute, McCarthyism at the Election Day session, contemporary immigration at the 2014 February Institute, and, at the culminating American Dream Conference, Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Gotham,” Mike Wallace, will introduce and moderate a panel on the American Dream and its legacy. Teachers will engage in content-rich workshops led by grant partners to help them conduct original research and develop technology-rich, standards-based curriculum materials.

As a result of participation in American Dream, teachers will gain knowledge and understanding of American history content and strategies for bringing that content to their students, develop skills in the use of technology, engage in original research on a topic in American history, and learn strategies for helping their students do the same. In order to maintain consistency and develop teacher leaders who can work citywide to enrich the teaching and learning of traditional American history, the project will develop a strong cohort teacher leaders supported by the grant’s partners and project director throughout the project.