$100 Million Awarded in Grants for Teaching History

The Department of Education (DOE) has announced the funding of 114 projects under the"Teaching American History" initiative. Nearly $100 million dollars in projects located in 39 states plus the District of Columbia received awards ranging from $19,561 to $1 million over three years. Of the 469 applicants, seven recipients received $1,000,000 awards. Award notifications will mailed the first week of October, and many grantees have already received congratulatory letters from their congressional representatives.

A large number of award winners partnered with local history-related institutions. A smaller number partnered with national historical organizations in order to enhance their educational projects. 15 percent of the winning projects, for example, allied with the National Council for History Education. Some 7 percent of the recipients are affiliated with National History Day; the history profession's Organization of American Historians is working with 4 recipients, and the National Association of Scholars, is working with 3 grant award winners.

The"Teaching American History" initiative is a discretionary grant program funded under Title II-C, Subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It is strongly supported by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Abstracts of the successful projects may be found on the"Teaching American History" web page at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/TAH