Grantee: North Plainfield Borough School District, North Plainfield, NJ
Project Name: James Madison Seminar on Teaching American History
Project Director: Bradford Wilson (609) 683-7878
Funding: $839,808
Number of Teachers Served: 45
Number of School Districts Served: 10
Number of Students Served: No information available

Middle and high school teachers of American History will engage in a 3-year professional development program aimed at building content knowledge and pedagogical skills through school district collaboration with Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, National Association of Scholars in Princeton, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Princeton String Quartet. The Laboratory for Student Success, Temple University, will evaluate project effectiveness. Year 1 emphasizes ideas and events surrounding the American Revolution and U.S. Constitution in a 2-week summer residential seminar followed by four meetings during the school year. Year 2's seminar and meetings focus on the Secession Crisis and Civil War. Year 3's seminar and meetings address 20th and 21st Century conflicts accompanying Civil Rights and Supreme Court jurisprudence. An interactive website will be created to share historic documents and lesson plans.