Teaching American History
Grant Funding by the U.S. Department of Education
www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
Alpine ISD and its partners were awarded a three year grant from the Teaching American History Grant Program. The program started in October of 2003, and will conclude in September of 2006
The grant writers, Anita Wright, Caroline Fox, and Carla McFarland, produced a program which benefits both the teachers and the students of the tri-county area.
Partnered with Alpine ISD are Sul Ross State University, the Alpine Public Library, Museum of the Big Bend, and E-BigBend Community Network.
All school districts in the tri-county area (Brewster, Jeff Davis, and Presidio Counties) have teachers participating in the grant activities. The school districts include Alpine ISD (Caroline Fox-Mentor Teacher), Fort Davis ISD (Lonnie Flippen-Mentor Teacher), Marathon ISD (Jory Vanderburg-Mentor Teacher), Marfa ISD (Lynda Chambers-Mentor Teacher), Presidio ISD (Roberto Lujan-Mentor Teacher), San Vicente ISD (Melissa Forsythe-Mentor Teacher), Terlingua CSD (Betina Kearns-Mentor Teacher), and Valentine ISD (Maria Williams-Mentor Teacher).
The main portion of the grant is used to fund graduate classes for the participants. Sixteen area teachers are presently working on their MA in history through Sul Ross State University. www.sulross.edu The grant also funds workshops, seminars, and orientations throughout the year.
On Saturday, January 17, 2004, 25 area history teachers took the American History Pre-Test which will be used as the base test for determining progress. Also used for determining progress are the yearly TAKS results.
Each of the participating partners has conducted an orientation for the teachers involved in the grant. On January 17, the Alpine Public Library conducted an orientation by APL Director Verna Bonner. The Alpine Public Library is receiving $10,600.00 from the grant for purchasing books, videos, software, etc. related to history. Each of the participating teachers received a special library card which identifies them as a grant participant.
Larry Francell of the Museum of the Big Bend conducted an orientation on January 24, 2004. Larry presented a hands-on orientation and demonstrated different ways to use the museum in the history or social studies classroom.
Melleta Bell, Senior Archivist of the Archives of the Big Bend, and Pam Spooner, Librarian at the Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library, presented an orientation on February 28, 2004. The grant participants were given several informative hand-outs and booklets which will be useful in the classroom and helpful in preparing for the history fair.
During the afternoon of February 28, Mary Bridges and Matt Walter of the Museum of the Big Bend presented a workshop on preparing displays for the history fair. The Museum also purchased supplies for the grant participants to use in preparing history fair projects. www.sulross.edu/~museum/
The Big Bend Regional History Fair was held at the Student Union Building on the campus of Sul Ross State University on March 2, 2004. Eight different schools participated with medals, picture frames, and cash awards presented to the winners. First and second place winners in each division were awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the State History Fair which was held in Austin on May 7-8, 2004. www.tsha.utexas.edu/education/thd/) Link to Results
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EBigBend Community Network conducted a technology workshop on March 20, 2004. Debra Cutting presented the workshop on using power point presentations in the history classroom. EBigBend will also conduct a technology workshop in August to meet state-mandated technology inservice hours. www.ebigbend.com
On April 3, 2004, Dr. Mark Saka, history professor at SRSU, presented an interesting seminar on "Teaching Mexican-American Studies". Courtesy of the grant, each school district is receiving a seven-copy set of booklets used by Dr. Saka on "Teaching Diversity".
On May 1, 2004, Ms. Judy Parsons, history professor at SRSU, presented an informative seminar on "Women of the American West". She used a video entitled "Nobody's Girls" to demonstrate the diversity and roles of women in the American west. Each school district was given a copy of the video courtesy of the grant.
On May 16-20, Project Director/Grant Administrator Barbara Stooksberry and Alpine ISD Mentor Teacher Caroline Fox traveled to Washington, DC for the annual TAH conference. There was some time for sight-seeing, but most of the time was taken up by workshops and regional meetings.
The grant sponsored seminars and workshops concluded in May for the
2003-2004 school year
In August, most of the teachers working on their masters degrees had
completed nine hours of graduate work, and the workshops and seminars for the
2004-2005 school year began. On
August 21, the participating teachers took post-test #1, and on August 28,
pre-test #2 was administered. The
results will be used for statistical purposes and to determine grant
effectiveness.
The end-of-year report for Year I was filed with the U.S. Department of
Education on September 30. A copy is
available by contacting Project Director Barbara Stooksberry.
Two changes have also been made in mentor teacher positions.
The mentor teacher for Fort Davis ISD is now Sara Pittman, and the mentor
teacher for Valentine ISD is now Peggy Low.
The Texas Historical Commission held a Regional Workshop in Marfa on
September 9 and 10 which was attended by several grant participants.
Local history was the focal point of this Regional Workshop and several
ideas were brought back for use in the classroom.
On September 18, Larry Francell, Director of the Museum of the
On October 9, 2004, the “Festival at the Fort”, which celebrated the Sesquicentennial of Fort Davis, was held. Several grant participants attended and took their students to the celebration. The history of the fort and the area was presented in several forms including orally and through docudramas.
On October 16, 2004, the grant sponsored a teacher workshop on “Riders on the Orphan Train”. Alison Moore and Phil Lancaster of “Extraordinary Stories” presented the workshop as a precursor to presenting at the schools. Each school had an assembly during the next week which was well-received by the students and teachers.
The Center for Big Bend Studies held its annual conference on November 12-13. Several grant participants attended the conference where historical papers and research were presented. Each school district received membership in the Center for Big Bend Studies and received the 2003 and 2004 Journals printed by the Center.
A very informative workshop on “Using Genealogy in the History Classroom” was presented by Verna Bonner on December 4, 2004. The history teachers found this information very interesting and planned on using it in the classroom. Each school library received two handbooks for using genealogy.
In February 2005, 8 hearty souls braved the snow and cold temperatures to attend a seminar conducted by Dr. Mark Saka. Dr. Saka gave an “Introduction to Islam” on February 26, at Lawrence Hall on the campus of Sul Ross State University.
On March 1,2005, the Big Bend Regional History Fair was held at the University Center on the campus of Sul Ross State University. Over 150 junior high and senior high students competed with 51 students named winners. 42 of the students earned a trip to the state history fair in Austin.
The new year began with preparations for the Big Bend Regional History Fair which was held on March 1, on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine. A preparatory workshop was held on January 15, 2005, for sponsors and students. Caroline Fox, Regional Director, displayed examples of all types of history fair projects and handed out the forms for entering the fair. Mary Bridges and Matt Walter of Museum of the Big Bend gave a tour of the museum and showed the students and sponsors how to do the research necessary for the presentations.
On April 1-2, the West Texas Historical Association held its Regional Conference in Alpine. Several of the grant participants attended the conference and the associated break-out sessions.
The Annual TAH Conference was held April 19-20, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Representing Alpine at the conference were Anita Wright, SRSU Grant Coordinator, and Amy Grigsby, AISD Federal Programs Coordinator.
Dr. Saka was again put to work on April 30, when he conducted a very interesting and relevant seminar on “Native Americans of the Western United States”.
The grant-sponsored seminars and workshops concluded in May for the 2004-2005 school year.
Most of the graduate students earned nine hours of graduate credit during the summer of 2005. Six hours were earned by taking “American History Since 1919” which included a 10 day trip to Europe! Some of the graduate students are very close to earning their Masters Degree and will be graduating in December.
The fall semester of 2005 started with post-test #2 and pre-test #3 administered on September 10. The test results showed major improvement by the grant participants.
On October 22, Dr. Mark Saka presented a seminar on “Coordinating Texas and American History for the 21st Century”. Each school district received a copy of the History Channel’s video entitled “Texas—Big America” for use in the Texas history classrooms.
The Center for Big Bend Studies held its annual conference on November 11 and 12. Several of the grant participants attended the break-out sessions and the banquet. Each of the school districts had their annual CBBS membership dues paid by the grant.
On December 10, Ginger Elliott conducted a technology workshop which included building forms and Photo Story. Each school district received the Photo Story card for their digital camera courtesy of the grant.
Graduation day for Sul Ross State University was held on December 17, with three grant participants receiving their Master of Arts degree in history. The three included Sara Pittman and Leticia Hartnett from Fort Davis and Jim Low from Valentine. The grant is paying big dividends for the tri-county area!
Spring 2006
The first workshop for the spring semester of 2006 was conducted by Caroline Fox, director of the Big Bend Regional History Fair. On January 7, Caroline had the teachers and students preparing for the regional history fair with on-line registration and demonstrations of last year’s power point presentations.
On February 4, Judith Parsons conducted a seminar on “Women’s Suffrage” which covered both halves of American history. Seventeen area teachers attended the seminar and took valuable information back to the classroom.
On March 3, the Big Bend Regional History Fair was held at the University Center on the campus of Sul Ross State University. Almost one hundred students competed in this year’s fair with forty-three students named as winners. Most of these students earned an all-expense paid trip to the state history fair in Austin on April 28-29.
Alpine Middle School
Big Bend
Regional History Fair
March 3, 2006
Junior Historical Paper
Junior Individual Exhibit
Samantha
Guerrero
Calan Ahrens
Reagan
County
Alpine
Junior Individual Documentary
Junior Group Exhibit
Chris
Valenzuela
Omar Grano, Zachariah Gonzales
Alpine
Marathon
Daniel Hernandez, Kenneth Mc
Dole
Lora Leos, Britany Serrano, Crystal Garcia
Marfa
Marfa
Senior Historical Paper
Senior Individual Exhibit
Michelle
Williamson
Marcelo Urias
Alpine
Valentine
Chelsea Weaver
Richard Roberts, Vanessa Ornelas
Crane
Valentine
Hector Cancino, Veronica Calderon
Valentine
Dr. Mark Saka presented an interesting seminar on April 8, entitled “Teaching Comparative Religion in the Public School Classroom”. Since religion is such an integral part of American history, this topic was very relevant and timely. Twenty teachers attended the seminar and took away some very interesting
The state history fair was held in Austin on April 28-29. Students from Alpine, Fort Davis, Marathon, Marfa, Presidio, and Valentine represented the Big Bend area. Although none of the area students advanced to the national history fair, Calan Ahrens, an Alpine Middle School eighth grader, received fifth place with his exhibit on “Big Bend Telephone Company”!
The last workshop for the school year was held on Saturday, May 6, at the Museum of the Big Bend and the Fort Davis National Historic Site. Matt Walter, curator for the museum, conducted the workshop entitled “The History of the Military in the Big Bend Region”. The workshop was extremely interesting and very relevant to the Big Bend area and included numerous military artifacts.
On Saturday, May 13, Sul Ross State University held its spring commencement ceremony at the Gallego Center. Four more of the grant-funded graduate students received their degrees including Jackie Molsbee-Alpine, Adam Portillo-Valentine/Sanderson, Liz Baker-Marfa/Fort Stockton, and Camille Doss-Fort Davis.
Five more graduate students will be attending summer classes at SRSU and are expected to receive their degrees in August.
The last objective of the TAH Grant will be to conduct the final testing session in September. The grant funding will end on September 30, 2006.
For more information about future grant-sponsored events, check out the schedule or the timeline.
Lesson Plans created by Grant Participants can be viewed here.
Project Director and Grant Administrator is Barbara Stooksberry. You can reach her at bstooksberry@alpine.esc18.net. or 432/837-7720.