The National Digital Library Program has announced the selection of 50 educators to participate in the 1998 American Memory Fellows Program. The program is an opportunity for teams of outstanding middle and high school humanities teachers and library/media specialists to improve the teaching of American history and culture in their schools by using digitized primary sources from the Library.
"This is an important and exciting opportunity for the Library to share its valuable historical primary-source materials and to become partners with educators to bring this material to schools across the nation," said Dr. Billington. "The Library looks forward to working with these 50 Fellows and building on the success of last year's Educators Institute.
The American Memory Fellows will gather in Washington for a National Digital Library Educators Institute from July 26 to July 31. Fellows will learn about the Library of Congress's digitized American Memory collections of photographs, documents, maps, sound recordings and motion pictures available at www.loc.gov/. During the Educators Institute, the Fellows will share in a professional development experience that will shape the way the Library's unique American Memory collections are used in schools across the country.
The 1998 Fellows join 50 graduates of the 1997 Educators Institute. Like their predecessors, the 1998 Fellows will create teaching units based on the American Memory collections. Then, in school year 1998-1999, Fellows will test their teaching units in the classroom, and will revise them for eventual dissemination to the education community through both the Library's World Wide Web site and at professional education forums nationwide. Interactive teaching unit ideas proposed by the selected American Memory Fellows include projects on the New Deal and the Depression, African American history, "period" newspapers, and a video-documentary of New York City as well as interdisciplinary projects on local history, immigration and childhood.
Last year's American Memory Fellows found the institute meaningful to their teaching and their professional growth. William Fernekes, a social studies supervisor from New Jersey said, "In my 23-plus years in the field, I would rate this institute at the very top in terms of daily quality and long-term potential for educational change." Participant Michael Federspiel of H.H. Dow High School in Midland, Mich., explained that the institute and the American Memory collections "have made history come alive for my students, and have allowed them to be 'historians' working with legitimate primary documents."
Twenty-five, two-person American Memory Fellows teams, selected by an independent review panel from 159 teams of applicants, comprise teachers, librarians, curriculum coordinators, media specialists and other educational professionals from across the nation. The American Memory Fellows are frequent users of technology in the classroom, and they are experienced using primary sources to motivate students, promote critical thinking and help students connect history to their own lives. Each Fellow is an active leader in the field of education and has the ability to disseminate his or her expertise to educators in their region.
As part of their participation, American Memory Fellows will also cooperate throughout the school year in an online National Digital Library Teacher Network. Through this forum, they will exchange ideas and learn from each other through organized online discussion groups.
The American Memory Fellows Program is part of the National Digital Library Program, which aims to digitize millions of American history items from the Library of Congress collections by the year 2000. Hundreds of thousands of items are already available online. The 1998 National Digital Library Educators Institute is made possible by a grant from an anonymous donor, who is helping the Library reach out to the education community.
1998 American Memory Fellows
MID-ATLANTIC
Team 1
Alison Cole Westfall,
Teacher,
St. Peter's School,
422 3rd St. S.E.,
Washington, DC 20003
Laura Mitchell, Historian, National Museum of American History, 1200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20560
Team 2
Byron Stoloff,
Social Studies Teacher,
Edison/Fareira H.S.,
151 West Luzane St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19140
Evelyn Bender, Library Media, Edison/Fareira High School, 151 West Luzane St., Philadelphia, PA 19140
Team 3
Joyce Kasman Valenza,
Library Information Specialist,
Wissahickon High School,
521 Houston Rd.,
Ambler, PA 19002
Carl Atkinson, Social Studies Teacher, Wissahickon High School, 521 Houston Rd., Ambler, PA 19002
Team 4
Kathryn Lee, Media Production Teacher,
Eastern Middle School,
300 University Blvd. East,
Silver Spring, MD 20901
Brad Goldberg, World Studies Teacher, Eastern Middle School, 300 University Blvd. East, Silver Spring, MD 20901
MIDWEST
Team 5
Bev Bertolone,
Social Studies Chair,
Blue Valley High School,
6001 W. 159th St.,
Stilwell, KS 66085
Ken Stewart, Library Media Specialist, Blue Valley High School, 6001 W. 159th St., Stilwell, KS 66085
Team 6
Sybil Connolly,
Library Media Specialist,
Kenneth Cooper M.S.,
8001 River Bend Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
Kelly Ann Middendorf, History Teacher, Kenneth Cooper M.S., 8001 River Bend Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73132
Team 7
Carol Kohnen,
Librarian,
St. Joseph's Academy,
2307 S. Lindbergh Blvd.,
St. Louis, MO 63131
Jane Garvin, Social Studies Chair, St. Joseph's Academy, 2307 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131
Team 8
Kelly Loomis,
Language Arts Teacher,
Parchment Middle School,
307 N. Riverview Dr.,
Kalamazoo, MI 49004
Martha W. King, Library Media Specialist, Parchment Middle School, 307 N. Riverview Dr., Kalamazoo, MI 49004
WEST
Team 9
Judy Drummond,
Teacher,
Horace Mann Academic Middle School,
3351 23rd St.,
San Francisco, CA 94110
Cathy Johnson, Librarian, Horace Mann Academic Middle School, 3351 23rd St., San Francisco, CA 94110
Team 10
Deborah Dent-Samake,
History Teacher,
Urban School of San Francisco,
1563 Page St.,
San Francisco, CA 94117
Carolyn Karis, Library Media Specialist, Urban School of San Francisco, 1563 Page St., San Francisco, CA 94117
Team 11
Melody Pinkston,
Library Media Specialist,
Fourth Avenue Junior High School,
450 S. 4th Ave.,
Yuma, AZ 85364
Michael Foree, 6th Grade Teacher, Carver Elementary School, 1341 W. 5th St., Yuma, AZ 85364
Team 12
Marilyn Cordova Swan, Librarian,
Iver C. Ranum High School,
2401 W. 88th Ave.,
Denver, CO 80221
Elaine Kohler, Librarian, Iver C. Ranum High School, 2401 W. 88th Ave., Denver, CO 80221
Team 13
Christopher Langley,
Teacher,
Lo-Inyo School,
P.O. Box 159,
Lone Pine, CA 93545
Sandra Langley, Teacher, Lo-Inyo School, P.O. Box 159, Lone Pine, CA 93545
Team 14
Mel Sanchez,
Teacher,
Santa Ana High School,
520 W. Walnut St.,
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Marilyn Frenz, Library Media Specialist, Santa Ana High School, 520 W. Walnut St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
Team 15
Debbie Abilock,
Librarian,
The Nueva School,
6565 Skyline Blvd.,
Hillsborough, CA 94010
Cynthia Kosut, Humanities Teacher, The Nueva School, 6565 Skyline Blvd., Hillsborough, CA 94010
NORTHEAST
Team 16
Arnold Pulda,
Teacher,
Doherty High School,
299 Highland St.,
Worcester, MA 01602
Howard Lurie, Technology Coordinator, Mr. Greylark Regional High School, 1781 Cold Spring Rd, Williamstown, MA 01267
NORTHWEST
Team 17
Barbara Olic-Hamilton,
Language Arts Chair,
Boise High School,
1010 W. Washington St.,
Boise, ID 83702
Elizabeth Horn, Media Specialist, Boise High School, 1010 W. Washington St., Boise, ID 83702
Team 18
Nicolet Whearty,
Helena High School,
1300 Billings Ave.,
Helena, MT 59601
Kathleen Prody, Helena High School, 1300 Billings Ave., Helena, MT 59601
Team 19
Marta Brooks,
St. Ignatius High School,
P.O. Box 400,
St. Ignatius, MT 59865
Jodi Bunnell, Archivist, University of Montana, Univ. Mt. Library Archive, Missoula, MT 59812
Team 20
Janet Martin,
English Teacher,
Grant High School,
2245 N.E. 36th Ave.,
Portland, OR 97212
Kris Demien, English Teacher, Marshall High School, 3905 S.E. 91st Ave., Portland, OR 97266
SOUTHEAST
Team 21
Elizabeth Ridgway,
American Studies,
Williamsburg M.S.,
3600 N. Harrison St.,
Arlington, VA 22207
Amy Donnelly, Instructional Technology, Arlington Co. Public Schools, 3600 N. Harrison St., Arlington, VA 22207
Team 22
Charlotte Bruce,
Head Librarian,
McLean High School,
1633 Davidson Road,
McLean, VA 22101
Helen Stephan, History Department, McLean High School, 1633 Davidson Rd., McLean, VA 22101
Team 23
Laura McCall-Drury,
Spanish/World Civ Teacher,
Burgin Independent School,
PO Box B,
Burgin, KY 40310
Lydia DiMartino, Media Specialist, Burgin Independent School, PO Box B, Burgin, KY 40310
Team 24
Scott Culclasure,
IB Coordinator,
High Point High School,
801 Ferndale Blvd.,
High Point, NC 27262
Pat Adams-Caskie, Media Specialist, High Point High School, 801 Ferndale Blvd., High Point, NC 27262
SOUTH
Team 25
Neal Gibson,
AK School Math and Science, 200 Whittington Ave.,
Hot Springs, AR 71901
George West, AK School Math and Science, 200 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs, AR 71901
