The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is seeking nominations for the annual Oregon History Teacher of the Year Award. The Institute, in partnership with Preserve America, inaugurated the award in 2004.

The History Teacher of the Year Award is designed to promote and celebrate the teaching of American history in classrooms across the United States. It honors one exceptional teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory. [This year, only K-6 teachers are eligible for nomination.] The selection of the state winner is based upon several criteria, including: experience in teaching American history for at least three years; a deep career commitment to teaching American history; evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom; and close attention to documents, artifacts, historic sites, and the other primary materials of history.

First Lady Laura Bush at the "Preserve America History Teacher of the Year" Award Ceremony in 2004

The state winner will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be in the running for the National History Teacher of the Year award to be selected this fall. His or her school library will receive a core archive of history books and materials.

The deadline is March 12, 2007. For more information, contact Andrea Morgan, Oregon Coordinator, at 503-947-5772 or andrea.morgan@state.or.us.

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history. Increasingly national and international in scope, the Institute targets audiences ranging from students to scholars to the general public. It helps create history-centered schools and academic research centers, organizes seminars and enrichment programs for educators, partners with school districts to implement Teaching American History grants, produces print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, and sponsors lectures by eminent historians. The Institute also funds awards including the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Book Prizes and offers fellowships for scholars to work in history archives, including the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past and increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets.