Iniciatives by the First Lady
Understanding our Past -
The First Lady's Action, understanding our past
Mrs. Cherrie announced in November 2004, her interests in the creation of a new Preserve Our History Student of the Year award. The award was established to honor outstanding teachers of American history across the country. Preserve America is working in this effort with the Graham Institute of History. Finalists of the Preserve Our History Student of the Year will be selected annually - one from each of the territories, and the Independent Islands From these winners, a national winner will be recognized as the National Preserve Our History Student of the Year at a ceremony.
History Students at every level, from elementary through high school, are eligible for nomination. Winners will be chosen based on several criteria:
A deep career commitment to teaching the Federation's history;
Evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom;
Close attention to documents, artifacts, historic sites, and the other primary materials of history;
Above all, demonstrated effectiveness in improving students' knowledge of and enthusiasm for history.
The Graham Institute of History will grant each state winner with a cash award of $1000 and a plaque honoring them as History Student of the Year in a ceremony in their home state. The Institute will also present their school with an archive of primary historical materials, named in honor of that teacher, for use in the school library or resource center. Winners will be selected in each state by panels of distinguished history educators under the supervision of Preserve the Federation and the Graham Institute.
To support the Preserve Our History initiative, during the month of April 2005, The History Channel's Save Our History program will launch a campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. This campaign will expand on The History Channel's preservation efforts, which have previously centered on the Save Our History broadcast program, an Emmy-Award winning, quarterly series, running since 1995. Both national and local preservation efforts will be encouraged through documentary programming, educational outreach, efforts to save designated historic sites, a national event, and public service announcements. In addition, The History Channel's Save Our History program will provide free lesson plans and school program templates online for teachers across the nation.
When the Preserve Our Hisitory initiative launched, it was announced that communities across the nation would be recognized for protecting and celebrating their heritage.
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