RICHLAND ONE AWARDED $1 MILLION GRANT

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that Richland One has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal grant funds to improve the quality of American history education.

Richland One was selected to receive one of the 122 grants totaling $116 million awarded to districts nationwide.

"These grants will provide teachers with the resources they need to engage their students and provide them with a better understanding of our nation’s history and the principles of our democracy," Spellings said. "A strong foundation in American history will ensure that our young people grow up to become active and informed citizens."

The $999,796 Teaching American History discretionary grant will support Richland One’s three-year Vertical Immersion Project to improve teachers’ knowledge and understanding of traditional American history through intensive, ongoing professional development.

Richland One will work in partnership with the University of South Carolina and the S.C. Department of Archives and History to provide professional development for participating teachers that will enable them to expand their expertise in traditional American history content, teaching strategies and other essential elements of teaching to higher standards.

Forty-eight district teachers will be selected to participate in the program. Identified teachers will earn 18 hours of graduate credit and receive a stipend for their participation. The graduate content courses will begin in the spring of 2008.

Teacher recruitment for the project will begin in August. Interested Richland One teachers currently teaching social studies in grades 4, 5, 8 or 11 should contact Mary Bostic at 231-6855 or Dr. Jane Eason at 231-6868.