National History Day Awards

Yesterday was Montgomery County's National History Day event, sponsored by the Montgomery County Historical Society.  The Parents' Coalition is a strong supporter of NHD and yesterday we were proud to award two prizes on the subject of Education History.  The awards ceremony was packed and it was good to see County Executive Ike Leggett, Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, and a representative from Representative Chris van Hollen's office in attendance.

The Parents' Coalition Prize in Education History went to:

Brian Mitchell, Bullis School, Teacher: Rachel Newman, for his documentary, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute: A Model of Desegregation Before Brown

and,

Caroline Coffey and Abigail Landesman, Eastern Middle School, Teacher: Laurie Hawe, for their documentary, Brown v. Board of Education - Changing Racial Identity and Race Relations in America.

A shout out to all the teachers and schools that participated this year:
Albert Einstein High School, Teacher Patricia L. Caraballo
Barrie School, Teacher Bryan Taylor
Bullis School, Teachesr Rachel Newman, Sara Romeyn, and Lisa Vardi
Eastern Middle School, Teachers Laurie Hawe and Laura Huber
Home school parents/guardians Johleen Cannon, Robyn Gopin, Tee Jenkins, Laura Kervistky, and Sara Stecher
John Poole Middle School, Teachers Sarah Nachlas and David Owens
Montgomery Blair High School, Teacher Anne Manuel
North Bethesda Middle School, Teachers Eric Kling and Megan Wessel
Northwood High School, Teachers Charles Alexander and Alix Medor
Richard Montgomery High School, Teacher Toni Kellinger
Rosa Parks Middle School, Teacher Matt White
Sherwood High School, Teacher Nicole Bolton
St. Catherine Laboure School, Teacher Mary Butler
Walt Whitman High School, Teacher Kirkland Shipley

Thanks again to all the teachers, parents, and guardians and of course the students who work so hard all year long for this culminating event, and our best to all the awardees who will move on to the state contests.

National History Day next Saturday at Richard Montgomery HS

National History Day is coming up.  This year's theme is: Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events.  Again this year the Montgomery County Historical Society is sponsoring the county's National History Day competition, to be held Saturday, March 16th, at Richard Montgomery High School.  Come visit this event and you can see the results of the hard work and efforts of our students, parents, and teachers who work throughout the year on these projects.  The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD is a strong supporter of National History Day and awards a prize each year for the best submittal on Education History.  Come to RM next Saturday; support our students; and...learn some history.

National History Day at Richard Montgomery HS

Montgomery County History Day took place yesterday at Richard Montgomery High School. Parents' Coalition is proud to sponsor an award in Education History each year. This year the award went to Amina N'Gambwa and Danie Stewart of Eastern Middle School for their Group Exhibit submittal (Junior Category), 'The G.I. Bill: Reforming the American Middle Class.' Their teacher is Laurie Hawe. Congratulations!

Montgomery County History Day is pulled together every year by the hard working staff and volunteers of the Montgomery County Historical Society. Thanks to them, and thanks to all the parents, guardians, teachers, and supporters of our children who work on these projects during the entire school year.

Yesterday's event is a sub-set of National History Day (NHD). This year the theme is, Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. Some of the students who participated yesterday will go on to the Maryland History Day competition, which will be held on April 28th. Despite its name, NHD is a year-long curriculum of intense study on a topic chosen by the student. The project requires the study of primary sources, and in many cases, interviews form part of the research. The end result can be a research paper; a video; a website; a performance; or an exhibit.

This year we couldn't help noticing that Eastern Middle School swept the competition, with Bullis School a close second. Congratulations to those faculty staff, at Eastern, Laurie Hawe and Laura Huber, and at Bullis, Sara Romeyn and Lisa Vardi and thanks all for encouraging our children to study history and learn about the importance of our past.

National History Day Curriculum Begins

Readers of this blog know that National History Day (NHD) is more than one day; it is a year-long intensive history curriculum in which students conduct original research related to the annual theme. This year's theme is: Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. To read more about the 2012 Theme and how to enter, go to NHD's webpage here, and the theme page here. Talk to your child's teachers about working on these topics. Some schools in Montgomery County, public and private, focus on the NHD theme and projects as part of the curriculum; at others, work on the projects are optional with support from teachers. Find out! Ask your child's teacher how they can participate. Homeschoolers also are active participants in NHD because of its rigorous curriculum. The 2012 NHD Curriculum Book is here.

The Parents' Coalition is a strong supporter of NHD and offers an annual prize on the topic of 'Education.'

And on a personal note, my own small business offers the annual PFB Consult Prize in Archaeology.

We encourage you to have your children participate in this year-long intensive curriculum. Teachers, parents, guardians, please email us and let us know if your child or student is involved in NHD.

Thanks!

National History Day: Congratulations to the Participants, Teachers, and Parents

This morning was the Annual Montgomery County National History Day Event sponsored by and organized by our very own Montgomery County Historical Society.  Thanks so much to members of the Historical Society staff and all the volunteers that work so hard to make this happen each year, especially Elizabeth Otey the Historical Society's Director of Education, the coordinator of this event.  To join and support our Historical Society, go here.  Join now!

The Parents Coalition of Montgomery County is a proud supporter of this annual event, awarding a prize for a topic on Education.  This year the Parents Coalition prize went to Malik Aldred, of Eastern Middle School, for his research and documentary on, The Debate over Integration in Little Rock, Arkansas.  His teacher is Laurie Hawe.  Thanks so much to Ms. Hawe and thanks to the parents of Malik for encouraging the study of history and recognizing its importance.  Well done!

National History Day Coming Up!

The Parents Coalition is a proud supporter of National History Day (NHD), which is organized here in Montgomery County each year by the Montgomery County Historical Society. Teachers, schools and our children throughout the county participate.


The first-ever evaluation of National History Day shows that students that participate in the National History Day Curriculum:

outperform their non-NHD peers on state standardized tests, not only in social studies, but in reading, science and math as well.


are better writers, who write with a purpose and real voice, and marshal solid evidence to support their point of view.


are critical thinkers who can digest, analyze and synthesize information.


learn 21st century skills. They learn how to collaborate with team members, talk to experts, manage their time and persevere.

NHD has a positive impact among students whose interests in academic subjects may wane in high school.

The conclusions were reported in Education Week by reporter Erik Robelen. Read the full report here.

This year the theme is, ‘Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures and Consequences.’ The Parents Coalition encourages all the children in our county to get involved and submit a project. To read the rules go here.  To read about this year's theme, go here.

Parents' Coalition Prize, Innovation in Education: The 11th Annual National History Day Competition

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland is proud to sponsor a prize for the 11th Annual National History Day competition to be held March 10th at Richard Montgomery High School.

National History Day is organized here by the wonderful Montgomery County Historical Society, especially the remarkable Emily Correll.

This year the theme is: Innovation in History: Impact and Change. Find more information here, or go to http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/AnnualTheme.htm and for local information, here, or go to http://www.montgomeryhistory.org/education_county_history.


The Parents' Coalition Prize will be awarded for an entry with the theme of Innovation in Education.

Most of the high schools and middle schools in the county participate in this event. Your child's teachers will be able to work with them and advise them for this competition.