Become a Montana Historical Society Teacher Leader in History

The Montana Historical Society is soliciting applications from K-5 teachers interested in helping improve elementary history education in their schools, districts, and regions by becoming Teacher Leaders in History.

Successful applicants will demonstrate a commitment to history education, interest and experience in teaching Montana history, excellence in the classroom, experience in sharing best practices with their colleagues, and familiarity with the Montana Historical Society’s work and educational resources.

In addition to the criteria above, up to the 10 program fellows will be chosen to reflect Montana’s geographic and educational diversity, assuring representation from different regions and both small and large schools.

Those accepted as Teacher Leader Fellows will be brought to Helena for a two-day Teacher Leader in History Summit, to be held at the Montana Historical Society, June 14-15, 2017, at the conclusion of which they will be certified as Montana Historical Society Teacher Leaders in History.

Throughout 2017-2018, this select group of Teacher Leaders in History will

• Serve as a members of the Montana Historical Society Educator Advisory Board, providing advice and classroom testing of lesson plans on an as-needed basis.

• Work to increase the Montana Historical Society’s visibility in their schools and communities.

• Promote Montana Historical Society resources to teachers in their region.

• Assist teachers in their schools in finding appropriate resources/implementing lessons that reflect best practices in elementary history education.

• Provide feedback to the Montana Historical Society about the areas in which they see need.

• Sharing Montana Historical Society Resources

• through a formal presentation at one or more regional conferences (for which they may earn OPI Renewal Units)

• within their own school or across their district through informal outreach and/or formal presentations

• Communicating with Montana Historical Society staff throughout 2017-18, documenting the outreach they have conducted

• Participating in asynchronous discussions about

• the obstacles their colleagues face while teaching history, and especially Montana history

• ideas for overcoming these obstacles to improve history education

• ideas for reaching other teachers with information.

In return, the Montana Historical Society will provide the following (valued at more than $500):

• Full travel scholarships to attend the free two-day June 2017 Summit, with the option of participating in a post-summit workshop on Reading Strategies for Social Studies on June 16, 2017.

• An honorarium of $100 to cover travel expenses to one regional conference, at which the participant is presenting.

• One classroom set of Evidence Analysis Window Frames.

• Free shipping for one MHS footlocker during the 2017-18 school year.

• Free resources (including Teaching Montana’s Charlie Russell packets and Neither Empty nor Unknown lesson plans) to distribute to colleagues.

• Ongoing support and consultation, including model PowerPoint presentations to use and adapt as in presentations to fellow educators

• A certificate designating the participant as an official MHS Teacher Leader in History.

• Up to 15 OPI Renewal Units or 1 graduate credit (at the cost of $150/pending course approval from MSU-Northern)  

Only 10 teachers will be selected for this special program. Apply online here. Applications are due April 30. Awardees will be notified by May 12.