$250,000 Teacher Education Grant Provides Training Opportunities for 332 Teachers in the Greater Philadelphia Area

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has received a $250,000 grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts in support of teacher education in the Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The grant will provide teachers with techniques that will enable them to offer high quality interactive American history and civics education to their students.

The grant money will be used in several endeavors: training master teachers and in-service workshops, and providing Electronic Field Trips, Hands-on History Kits, and Web site and online materials.

“Colonial Williamsburg and The Pew Charitable Trusts share a sense of the great importance of our young people understanding their nation's history and being informed participants in the political process,” said Colin Campbell, president and chairman of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “We are delighted with this opportunity to partner with The Pew Charitable Trusts to have an impact on classroom instruction in the Philadelphia area about American history and the responsibilities of citizens in this democratic republic.”

Working with the Greater Philadelphia-area school districts, Colonial Williamsburg will identify 32 master teachers -- 24 elementary and middle school teachers and eight high school teachers – to attend the Summer 2007 Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute, a week-long session where participants will explore instructional methods that help make history relevant and exciting, and engage students effectively.

The master teachers then will partner with Colonial Williamsburg educators to conduct three one-day Teaching American History workshops for 300 of their peers. Colonial Williamsburg will provide all participants with teaching resources to complement their training, including access to Colonial Williamsburg's Electronic Field Trip series, a Hands-on-History Kit and access to a dedicated, interactive Web site that not only offers lesson plans, teaching strategies, media elements and primary source materials, but also serves as a communications vehicle for the teacher network.

“The Pew Charitable Trusts is delighted to support this initiative that will equip teachers in the Philadelphia region with active-learning methods for their classrooms,” said Don Kimelman, managing director of information and civic initiatives at the Trusts. “The training program offers a unique and effective partnership of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and educators, to bring the significance and contemporary relevance of American history to Philadelphia's young people in ways that are fun and engaging.”

The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life. Based in Philadelphia, the Trusts will invest $204 million in fiscal year 2006 to provide organizations and citizens with fact-based research and practical solutions for challenging issues.

“Philadelphia-area teachers have the opportunity, through the generosity of The Pew Charitable Trusts, to augment their knowledge of history and acquire teaching strategies that help students see the relevance of the past in their decision-making processes as fully-participating citizens and leaders of tomorrow,” said Tab Broyles, Colonial Williamsburg's director of teacher education.

Established in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational institution that restores, preserves and operates the 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia, encompassed in the 301-acre Historic Area. Gifts to Colonial Williamsburg support program presentations in Historic Area buildings, trade shops and museums, acquisition and conservation of art and artifacts, building preservation and maintenance, production of publications and audiovisual programs and the research, documentation and interpretive training fundamental to the foundation's educational activities. Williamsburg is located 150 miles south of Washington, D.C.

For information about gift opportunities, contact Denise Kellogg, director of development toll-free at (888) 293-1776, via e-mail at [email protected] or visit Colonial Williamsburg's Web site at www.ColonialWilliamsburg.org.