October 12, 2011 Library of Congress Selects 2011-2012 Teacher-in-Residence

Earnestine Sweeting, a fifth-grade classroom teacher at P.S. 153, The Helen Keller School, in the Bronx, N.Y., has been selected as the Library’s 2011-2012 Teacher-in-Residence.

Since 2000, the Library of Congress has recruited teachers to work with its Educational Outreach division to help teachers incorporate the Library’s digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. The Educational Outreach division is responsible for directing and developing the Library’s efforts to make its resources available and useful to the nation’s K-12 community. Over the past decade, the division has used digital technology and its collective educational expertise to bring the Library’s collections and scholarship into classrooms across the country.

Sweeting, who teaches general education and gifted and talented students, earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. She has also provided local and district-wide professional development on the use of primary sources in the classroom for the Office of Library Services in the New York City Department of Education, as well as for participants in the Teaching American History Grants program.

Each Teacher-in-Residence undertakes a project to benefit his or her home school or district to be implemented during the following academic year. For her project, Sweeting will examine and correleate the Library’s teaching materials to the Common Core Standards adopted by New York state last year. Sweeting also plans to collaborate and train the teachers in New York City public schools in the effective use of the Library’s digital resources.

To be considered for the Teacher-in-Residence position, candidates must submit an online application along with a current resume, project plan, letters of recommendation and a letter from a school or district authorizing official approving the intergovernmental personnel agreement. Applications are evaluated based on the teacher’s creativity and willingness to contribute to the educational community as evidenced by his or her description of past activities and recommendation letters, and the feasibility and value of the project that the applicant proposes. Finalists are contacted for a brief phone interview prior to the selection decision.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled integrated resources to Congress and the American people. The Library serves the public, scholars, Members of Congress and their staff—all of whom seek information, understanding and inspiration. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.