NEH  LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE:
WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS

APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops are offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide K-12 educators with the opportunity to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics and issues in American history and culture, while providing them with direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical and cultural sites and the use of archival and other primary evidence. 

Prior to completing an application, please review the letter/prospectus from the project director (available on the project’s website, or as an attachment) and consider carefully what is expected in terms of residence and attendance, reading and writing requirements, and general participation in the work of the project.

Landmarks workshops will allow 40 teachers at a time to collaborate with core faculty and visiting scholars.  The workshops are designed to present the best available scholarship on a specific landmark or related cluster of landmarks, while enabling participants to gain a sense of the importance of historical and cultural places, to make connections between the workshop content and what they teach, and to develop individual teaching and/or research materials.

ELIGIBILITY

These projects are designed principally for classroom teachers and librarians in public, private, parochial, and charter schools, as well as home schooling parents.  Other K-12 school personnel, including administrators, substitute teachers, and classroom professionals, are eligible to participate, subject to available space. 

Teachers at schools in the United States or its territorial possessions or Americans teaching in foreign schools where at least 50 percent of the students are American nationals are eligible for this program.  Applicants must be United States citizens, residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been residing in the United States or its territories for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline.  Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered institutions are not eligible to apply.  Individuals may not apply to participate in a workshop given by the same director on the same topic in which they have previously participated; in other words, they should not apply to attend the same workshop twice.  Individuals may not apply to study with a Landmarks director who is a family member. 
Applicants must complete the NEH application cover sheet and provide all of the information requested below to be considered eligible. 

New this year: An individual may apply to up to three NEH summer projects in any one year (Landmarks workshops, seminars, or institutes), but may participate in only one.  Please note that eligibility criteria differ significantly between the Landmarks Workshops and the Seminars and Institutes Programs.

SELECTION CRITERIA

A selection committee (consisting in most cases of the project director, one of the project scholars, and a veteran teacher) will read and evaluate all properly completed applications. 

Special consideration is given to the likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally and personally from the workshop experience.  It is important, therefore, to address each of the following factors in the application essay:

1) your professional background;
2) your interest in the subject of the workshop;
3) your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and
4) how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service.

Preference is given to applicants who have not previously participated in an NEH Landmarks workshop, seminar or institute.

STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

Teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $1,200 at the end of the residential workshop session.  Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books, and ordinary living expenses.  Stipends are taxable.

Workshop participants are required to attend all scheduled meetings and to engage fully in all project activities.  Participants who do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend. 

Participants will provide NEH with an assessment of their workshop experience, especially in terms of its value to their personal and professional development.  You will be asked to provide a confidential online evaluation at the close of the workshop.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

These general application instructions from the NEH should be accompanied by a “Dear Colleague Letter” from the project director that contains detailed information about the content of the workshop, the institutional setting, what is expected of participants, and specific provisions for lodging and subsistence.  If you do not have such a letter/prospectus, please request one from the director of the project(s) in which you are interested before you attempt to complete and submit an application.  In many cases, directors have websites for their projects and the “Dear Colleague” letter may be downloaded.  All application materials must be sent to the project director at the address listed on the program announcement or in the “Dear Colleague Letter.”  Application materials sent to the Endowment will not be reviewed.  Please indicate on the application cover sheet your first and second choices of workshop dates.   

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

A completed application consists of three copies of the following collated items:

• the completed application cover sheet,
• a résumé or short biography, and
• an application essay (no longer than one double-spaced page) as
 outlined below.

In addition, it must include one letter of recommendation as described below.

Application Cover Sheet

The application cover sheet must be filled out online at this address:

http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/   

Please fill it out online as directed by the prompts.  When you are finished, be sure to click on the “submit” button.  Print out the cover sheet and add it to your application package.  At this point you will be asked if you want to fill out a cover sheet for another project.  If you do, follow the prompts and select another project and then print out the cover sheet for that project as well. Note that filling out a cover sheet is not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and filling out a cover sheet for several projects.  A full application consists of the items listed above, as sent to the project director.      
 
Résumé

Please include a résumé or brief biography detailing your educational qualifications and professional experience.

Application Essay

The application essay should be no more than one double spaced page.  The essay should address your professional background; interest in the subject of the workshop; special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service. 

Reference Letter

Applicants should provide a letter of recommendation from their school principal, department head, district administrator, or home-schooling association president as appropriate.  It is helpful for referees to read the director’s description of the project and your application essay. Please ask your referee to sign his/her name across the seal on the back of the envelope containing the letter, and enclose the letter with your application. 

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE

Completed applications should be submitted to the project director, not the NEH, and postmarked no later than March 2, 2010.  Note: this date is two weeks earlier than in past years.

Send applications to:

Susan Sirota, NEH Workshop

Education Department MMSD

1492 North Harbor Drive

San Diego, CA 92101

Successful applicants will be notified of their selection by April 1, 2010, and they will have until April 5, 2010 to accept or decline the offer.  Applicants who will not be home during the notification period should provide an address and phone number where they can be reached.  No information concerning the status of an application will be available prior to the official notification period.  

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.  For further information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506.  TDD:  202/606 8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).