![](media/image1.jpeg){width="2.1006944444444446in"
height="2.125in"}Teaching American History Article

By Margarita L. Meléndez

TAH Project Officer

This article was featured in the Society for History in the Federal
Government (SHFG) newletter, The Federalist, Second Series, Fall 2008,
Number 19.

![](media/image2.png){width="7.875in" height="1.0527777777777778in"}

The Teaching American History (TAH) program is the largest Federal
history education program in the country. Created in 2001, the TAH
program is a professional development program for teachers of all levels
(Grades K-12) of American history. The goal of the program is to raise
student achievement by improving teachers\' knowledge of and
appreciation for traditional U.S. history. Grants are awarded on a
competitive basis to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs or school
districts) to develop and disseminate innovative and cohesive models of
professional development in consultation with organizations with content
expertise. Grants are made for a period of three to five years. Funding
amounts vary according to school district size but normally average
around \$974,061 for a three-year period for school districts with
20,000 to 300,000 students.

The TAH program is authorized under Title II, Part C, Subpart 4 of the
*Elementary and Secondary Education Act* of 1965, as amended by the *No
Child Left Behind Act* of 2001. Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia),
an ardent advocate of historical literacy, proposed the program as a
result of his concerns regarding the preparation of history teachers
across the nation. The program is one of five teacher quality grant
programs administered in the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the
U.S. Department of Education (Department). Funding for the program began
in 2001 with \$50,000,000. Since then, funding has more than doubled and
has remained steady with \$117,903,600 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 and
\$119,790,000 in FY 2007. Grants have been awarded to LEAs in all 50
states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands. Currently, there are almost 500 active grants.

The TAH program distinguishes itself in a number of ways from many
Federally funded professional development programs. First, the program
strongly emphasizes teacher mastery of subject matter knowledge. In
fact, there is a statutory requirement for applicants to partner with an
organization with content expertise: an institution of higher education,
a library or museum, or a non-profit history or humanities organization.
Second, the program emphasizes "traditional American history" as a
concept to be clearly taught as part of the funded professional
development activities. The definition of "traditional American history"
was first published in the [Federal Register]{.underline} Notice of
Final Selection Criteria and Other Application Requirements of April 15,
2005, and it is incorporated in the Project Quality selection criterion
in the annual competitions. Third, the program focuses on upgrading the
content knowledge of elementary and secondary classroom teachers in
targeted school districts, rather than on serving teachers from many
school districts.

The format of most TAH projects includes an intensive summer institute,
academic year workshops or colloquia, some form of mentoring or
collaboration with Master Teachers, lesson plan development, and
technology integration. The offerings may vary widely depending on the
needs of the particular district or teachers. Variations include
offering a master's degree as part of the program, engaging in field
studies to sites of historic significance, and conducting research at
local or national archive or museum facilities. In addition, in
recognition of the unique challenges faced by teachers of different
grade levels, many projects have recently begun to offer "a menu of
options" or levels of participation in order to serve the greatest
number of elementary, middle, and high school teachers within their
districts.

The majority of TAH projects cover the entire scope of American history
beginning with pre-colonial America to the present day. A typical TAH
project may cover the beginnings of American history to the antebellum
period in Year 1; the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Westward Expansion
in Year 2; and 20^th^ and 21^st^ Century histories in Year 3. However,
some projects focus on specific periods of American history based on the
results of a needs assessment or to coincide with historical topics tied
to State or district standards and assessments. Whatever may be the
historical content, it is normally delivered by an expert in the
academic field, i.e., a historian, history professor, or noted author.
Furthermore, the grants also assist teachers in developing their skills
as historians by providing opportunities to work with primary sources,
conduct original research, and interact with archivists, historical
interpreters, and pedagogical experts. The many features of a TAH
project, therefore, offer teachers opportunities to master historical
subject matter, as well as enhance their historical thinking skills.

TAH projects partner with a great variety of government and
non-government organizations, including for-profit and non-profit
entities. The Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the National
Archives, the National Park Service, and the Presidential Libraries and
Museums are quite active across a great number of TAH grants.
Additionally, well-known historical and civic education organizations
such as the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Mount Vernon, the Bill of
Rights Institute, and National History Day, to name only a few, are
well-represented among TAH projects. More importantly for the TAH
projects, however, is the opportunity to form lasting partnerships with
local organizations that can provide sustainability of the grant's
effects after Federal funding ends. Indeed, one of the most cited
benefits of TAH projects is the relationship established between school
districts and local colleges, universities, museums, and historical
societies that had no formal contact prior to the grant.

As a condition of receiving grant funds, TAH projects are required to
submit Annual Performance Reports on a yearly basis and a Final
Performance Report 90 days after the conclusion of the grant. They are
also required to respond to the TAH program's Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA) measures. Currently, the program uses measures of
success related to increases in student achievement and teacher content
knowledge in American history and participation rates in professional
development activities.

In addition to ensuring high-quality history professional development
through the awarding and monitoring of grants, the TAH program is also
involved in a number of initiatives to improve history education and
historical knowledge at a national level. The most important of these
initiatives is the creation of the National History Education
Clearinghouse in 2007 (<http://teachinghistory.org/>). The Clearinghouse
was created under contract to the Department by the Center for History
and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University. The CHNM's partners in
this endeavor are the American Historical Association and the Stanford
University History Education Group. The Clearinghouse is designed to
provide K-12 U.S. history teachers with access to resources and
materials that enhance American history education in the classroom. The
site builds on and disseminates valuable lessons learned by more than
800 funded TAH projects. The site contains a wealth of information on
history content, teaching materials and practices, professional
development, and research.

Additionally, the TAH program also serves as the lead office for the
Congressionally mandated commemoration of Constitution Day and
Citizenship Day annually on September 17. In 2008, the program sponsored
a special event that included opening remarks by Deputy Secretary Ray
Simon and an educational presentation by Lauren Cristella, Education
Manager for the National Constitution Center. In addition to
Constitution Day celebrations, the program is an active partner in the
Advisory Council for Historic Preservation and has recently engaged in
talks with the staff of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to
explore possibilities for collaboration. Further, the program staff has
an active presence in professional history organizations by attending
and presenting at conferences such as those sponsored by the American
Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the
National Council on History Education, and others. Finally, through
numerous site visits to projects each year, as well as the annual TAH
Project Directors Meeting, the TAH staff remain on the cutting edge of
issues of vital importance to the history education community.

It is the goal of the TAH program to transform history education in the
United States by improving the quality of its history teachers. Indeed,
in many districts, the TAH projects represent the only professional
development program available to history teachers. By assisting teachers
in acquiring deep content knowledge and training them in the skills of
professional historians, TAH grant participants are able to deliver high
quality history instruction that is engaging and meaningful to their
students, resulting in higher student achievement and better prepared
citizens for our democratic Republic.

For more information, visit the TAH program webpage at
<http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/index.html>.