FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Laura García-Culler, Executive Vice President
912.651.2125, or Email

GHS Brings Scholars to Savannah Teachers

Savannah, GA - March 14, 2007. The Georgia Historical Society and the Massie Heritage Center, a unit of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS), are bringing two renowned scholars, Alan Taylor, University of California, Davis, and Louise Knight, Northwestern University, Chicago, to Savannah to speak to local teachers. These speakers are part of two separate symposia series funded by the United States Department of Education's Teaching American History grant program that seeks to increase teacher knowledge of American history. The partnership between the Georgia Historical Society and SCCPSS has been awarded four such grants since 2002.

Alan Taylor is speaking on the settling of North America, and will address teachers of Kindergarten through 3rd grade, as well as 9th through 12th grade. Taylor's presentation is part of the "Made in America" series that helps teachers frame important events in American history in a way that meets Georgia's educational standards. Topics in the series have included early American slavery, colonial encounters with Native Americans, and early American religious life.

Louise Knight will discuss the life of Jane Addams and her years at Hull House in Chicago. Knight is addressing teachers of 4th, 5th and 8th grade as part of the "Restoring America's Memory" series. This series is designed to address the lives of important Americans, and provide teachers with strategies to teach about these historical figures in their classrooms. Jane Addams is one of four biographies presented so far this year, following John Adams, Lewis & Clark, and Nat Turner.

Teachers interested in participating in future Teaching American History series should contact their department heads, or for more information, contact the Massie Heritage Center at 912.201.5070