Over its first four-year grant period (2003-06), the Upstate New York Teaching of American History Project succeeded in creating a culture of learning among American history teachers in a region that spans 14 counties in New York State.

The project delivered 41 school-year presentations (workshops, historic site and museum visitations, mini-conferences), 4 one-day American History Day conferences, and 7 week-long summer institutes), and the total attendance for all activities was 959 teachers. Schools from all corners of the region engaged in the work of the project during its four years: participants came from 56 of the 94 public school districts, as well as 16 private and parochial schools and 4 local colleges/universities that offer teacher training programs.

The project made use of a wide variety of colleges, history-rich institutions and professional associations to accomplish the goals of the grant. Professors and historians from 15 colleges and universities made professional presentations to participants. On-site presentations and visits were especially successful; participating teachers visited 11 regional historic sites and 4 museums, all of which enriched the project through participant interaction with primary resources.

The project website was the primary use of technology to enhance the work of the project. The project’s “Teacher Resources” database page was created to be a unique resource for teachers across New York State. The goals of the webpage were to connect teachers to local and national resources that would be useful for lesson development, and provide access to historical exhibits and records in many of the regional community institutions of our region not regularly tapped by teachers.

Project partners assured the continuation of the Upstate New York American History
Education Alliance by successfully applying in 2006 for a second Teaching of American History grant to build upon the expertise developed over the life of the project, focusing specifically on
American history taught at the middle level.