September 19, 2017 Library Selects World History Teacher as Next Teacher-in-Residence

Matthew C. Poth, a world history teacher at Park View High School in Sterling, Virginia, has been selected to serve as the 2017-2018 teacher-in-residence at the Library of Congress. In that role, he will work closely with the Library’s Educational Outreach team to help make primary sources from the Library’s collection more accessible for teachers everywhere.

“The Library of Congress holds extraordinary resources related to world history and we’re really excited to work with an experienced teacher like Matt to make Library treasures more approachable and usable for his fellow world history teachers,” said Lee Ann Potter, director of Educational Outreach. “Our teachers-in-residence always bring new ideas and great insights with them, and Matt is no exception. We’ve already been wowed by Matt’s energy and enthusiasm for the mission. I expect we’ll see some great new world history projects this year at the Library.”

Since 2000, the Library has recruited educators to work with its Educational Outreach office to help teachers and school librarians incorporate the Library’s digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. The Educational Outreach office is responsible for directing and developing the Library’s efforts to make its resources accessible, relevant and compelling to the nation’s K-12 community. Teachers-in-residence have helped the Library bring its collections and powerful strategies for integrating them into classrooms across the country.

Each teacher-in-residence undertakes a project to benefit their home school or district, to be implemented during the following academic year. For his project, Poth will create a multipart workshop for teachers across the curriculum. He will work in partnership with his school’s librarian to provide resources, technology and support to the educators who attend. Plans for the workshop will be shared widely with educators beyond his district. Also, Poth will be a regular contributor to the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog.

Poth has been a teacher with Loudoun County (Virginia) Public Schools for five years. He earned his B.A. in history and his B.S. in secondary education from Penn State University and his M.S. in educational administration from Shenandoah University. Prior to teaching, Poth served in the Marine Corps for four years.

In addition to teaching, Poth has been Park View’s cross-country coach for the past five seasons and taken part in National History Day’s “Understanding Sacrifice” program during the past two summers.

To be considered for the teacher-in-residence position, candidates must submit an application along with a current resume, project plan, letters of recommendation and a letter from a school or district authorizing official approving the personnel agreement. Applications are evaluated based on the teacher’s creativity and willingness to contribute to the educational community, as evidenced by description of past activities and recommendation letters, and the feasibility and value of the proposed project.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov; and use its specialized educational resources at loc.gov/teachers/.