CHESTER, NJ -- The West Morris Regional High School District (WMRHSD) is one of only 129 school districts in the country, and the only New Jersey school in Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, to be selected as a recipient of the Teaching American History Grant by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).

The WMRSHD will receive $499,000 over a three-year period, beginning in early 2006, for its new program, "Defining Freedom - Teachers and Students as Historians: Implementing the History Lab." This is the 2^nd time that the WMRHSD has received the grant, bringing the total in Teaching American History grant funding to just over $1 million.

The grant is highly competitive. The WMRHSD completed an extensive electronic application that, among other things, detailed the proposed program's intent, scope, value, budget and follow-up plans. The WMRHSD demonstrated, through proposed partnerships with such institutions as the National Council for History Education, that Defining Freedom would "improve teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American history" and develop in students "an appreciation for the great ideas of American history."

Approximately 150 teachers will benefit from the award. In addition to teachers from the WMRHSD (West Morris Central and West Morris Mendham High Schools), the consortium will include teachers from local K-8 districts Chester, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Washington Township and Hackettstown, as well as 5- 12 grade teachers from Newark North Star Academy Charter School. Teachers from all six schools will attend three summer colloquia designed to familiarize them with the skills, techniques and approaches of the professional historian so that they can use this knowledge to develop and incorporate scientifically based history labs into lesson plans for their students.

The colloquia will take place at Colonial Williamsburg, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio and the Smithsonian Institution and focus on three time periods: the American Revolution, the Abolition Movement and the Cold War. Teachers will be trained by recognized master historians to use primary and secondary source documents to explain, analyze and show connections among these time periods, identify the causalities for specific historic events and how various historical figures and groups interpreted the U.S. Constitution.

"Defining Freedom - Teachers and Students as Historians: Implementing the History Lab" will be implemented under the direction of the WMRHSD Curriculum Director and Acting Superintendent of Schools, Anthony di Battista. "Naturally we are delighted to be able to provide our already highly qualified teachers with advance professional development opportunities from some of the nation's most respected historians and historical institutions," said Dr. di Battista. "As with all our educational programs, however, our students remain the highest priority. As a result, the ultimate goals of "Defining Freedom - Teachers and Students as Historians: Implementing the History Lab" will be to develop students' critical thinking skills, engage them in active historical inquiry and improve their interest and achievement in American history."