Download the Press Release .pdf on the Spring 2014 History Institute:

• Chris Appy speaks on Who We Are: The Vietnam War and the End of American Exceptionalism
• David Glassberg speaks on Learning from American Environmental History

UMass Professors and K-12 Teachers Collaborate to Connect Past and Present, Bringing Contemporary Events into Local Classrooms

Most people assume that history is over. After all, it’s the past.

The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program (TPS) featured a profile on the work of Emerging America with TPS in Massachusetts.

April 14, 2013: Blogger Anthony Cody cites Rich Cairn's article in the TPS Journal to give credence to his suggestion that students examine a controversial report on education in the District of Columbia under Michelle Rhee. http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/04/common_core_non-fiction_readin.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS2

The Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 2012, TPS Journal issue on the Common Core and primary sources features a lead article, "Primary Sources: At the Heart of the Common Core State Standards," by Emerging America Director, Rich Cairn. More.

Easthampton High School history teacher Kelley Brown and Fourth and Fifth grade Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School teacher Laurie Risler were honored by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts for their dedication to the profession of teaching and their outstanding efforts in servicing their schools and communities.

The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) and Historic Northampton are pleased to announce the culmination of a four-year joint partnership to educate the public about the heritage of the abolitionist utopian community of the 1840s called the Northampton Association of Education and Industry (NAEI). The partners presented their work at Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, at 4:00 pm on October 13 and the site unveiling was reported in the Hampshire Gazette (link to view or print pdf) In the 1990s, Historic Northampton received 75 letters as well as artifacts from the descendents of James and Dolly Stetson, a family that lived at the NAEI. These letters offer an intimate and engaging perspective from the inside of the community. In addition to Dolly and James, several children also wrote about their experiences, dreams, and concerns. “Radical Equality” tells the story of a multi-racial attempt to use silk manufacture as an alternative to slave-grown cotton. Sojourner Truth, David Ruggles, and many less famous lights of the abolitionist movement lived and worked at the NAEI. Frederick Douglass felt a strong connection with the community, and William Lloyd Garrison was a frequent visitor. “The Community,” as it was known, made Florence not only a stop on the Underground Railroad, but for some, an end destination. “Radical Equality” began in part as a way to show teachers how they can engage students in presenting local history to the community. Since 2007, 30 student-teacher teams participating in CES’es Windows on History program have created web sites to showcase local history. The project is funded by a Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Historic Northampton Museum is a museum of regional history in the heart of western Massachusetts. Historic Northampton’s partnership with the Collaborative began with the notion that local history is a lens through which students can view and comprehend larger themes in American history. These letters and documents let students explore historical issues in real time by looking at events as they unfold through the eyes of contemporary observers and participants. Abstract concepts such as “Abolitionism” take on new meaning as students discover how and why real individuals came to embrace this cause and to make personal sacrifices that ultimately altered the course of history.

– Owen Boss, Hampshire Gazette (Northampton). [caption id="attachment_2139" align="alignright" caption="Easthampton High School teacher and Emerging America teacher-leader Kelley Brown receives History Teacher of the Year award from Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester."][/capti

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - Katie Breault, The Register (Ludlow).  Student Web Site Presents History of Ludlow.  Click here to download a pdf of this article.  www.turley.com Saturday, August 2, 2008 - Ashleigh Pyecroft, Hampshire Gazette.  Where History Still Lives, Valley Offers Vestiges of the Nation's Earliest Days.  Click here to download a pdf of this opinion piece.  www.gazettenet.com Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - Jennifer Huberdeau, The Transcript.  Drury Students Look at North Adams History - "Students at Drury High School have given the city a new window to its history via a Web site created for their honors U.S. history classes."  Click here to download a pdf of the article.  Photo at right by Jennifer Huberdeau, The Transcript, North Adams.  www.thetranscript.com