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Washougal schools receive nearly $1 million for history education

Evergreen, Ridgefield districts will also benefit from grant

By Marissa Harshman, Columbian Health Reporter
Published: September 22, 2010, 12:00am

The Washougal School District has received nearly $1 million from the Department of Education to improve American history education.

The district is one of two in the state to receive the Teaching American History grant. While Washougal is the grant administrator, the Evergreen and Ridgefield school districts are co-recipients. Teachers from all three districts will benefit from the $996,999 grant.

The grant is guaranteed for three years but may be extended to five years, pending funding. Sixty teachers — 20 each year of the grant — will participate.

The grant’s focus is on civil rights and will enhance the teachers’ understanding of American history through intensive professional development, which includes study trips to historic sites and mentoring with professional historians and experts.

The Washougal School District has just completed a three-year history grant, and the additional money will allow the district to build upon the progress already made, according to a news release from the district. Grant director and high school Associate Principal Carol Boyden said in the release that history education has lost some classroom emphasis because of the focus on state testing requirements. This grant, though, can help change that.

“We feel incredibly lucky,” she said. “Thanks to this grant, we’re able to focus on teaching strategies to incorporate history into other subjects, such as reading and writing and keep history an integral part of our curriculum.”

The grant requires districts to partner with organizations with broad knowledge of American history, such as libraries, museums, nonprofit historical organizations and higher education institutions. Major grant partners include Washington State University and the Clark County Historical Museum.

Through the grant, teachers learn directly from authors, historians and experts through workshops. Those experts also serve as ongoing resources for the teachers. Grant participants will also complete a weeklong summer study program.

“This is the best professional development I’ve ever seen for teachers,” Boyden said. “It sets up relationships between universities, school districts and experts to create a community around teaching history.”

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

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Columbian Health Reporter