Laurie Johnson, a teacher from Phillipsburg High School, will be spending the summer at the Morristown National Historical Park to develop educational programs that tap the park’s extensive archives, according to the National Park Foundation.
Twenty programs around the country are sharing $300,000 in grants for these sorts of projects. More details are below.
FROM THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION:
Phillipsburg High School Teacher Laurie Johnson
to Participate in Park Stewards Program at Morristown NHP
National Park Foundation Grants nearly $300,000 to 20 Park Steward Programs
across the Country
Morristown, NJ – As area students begin their summer vacations, Laurie
Johnson of Phillipsburg High School is heading to Morristown National
Historical Park (NHP) to plan immersive learning experiences that the park
will turn into service-based educational programs for students next fall.
It’s all part of the National Park Foundation’s Park Stewards program,
which helps build a deeper connection and sense of stewardship for national
parks among high school students.
“This program is important to us because it will allow us to expand our
Primary Source Seminar, which utilizes the park’s extensive archival
collections, to benefit the students and the park as well” said Dr. Jude
Pfister, Chief of Cultural Resources at Morristown NHP. “With Ms.
Johnson’s expertise, we will develop new Primary Source Seminar lesson
plans and web activities, and initiate our Archival Ambassadors Program.”
said Sarah Minegar, Archives Technician and Museum Educator.
“The Park Stewards program creates a ripple effect as each teacher becomes
a conduit for bringing classrooms of students into their parks year after
year,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park
Foundation. “This program is an introduction for many students to their
parks, and the service learning that they do can spark a connection to the
parks that will last a lifetime.”
Teachers begin their summer sessions by familiarizing themselves with their
local national park, its resources, and responsibilities of the park staff.
Together, teachers and staff then work to develop service learning
activities for their high school students that advance the park’s mission,
yet are broad enough to be applicable to local, state, and national
education standards. Through the service learning activities the students
apply academic knowledge and critical thinking skills, in addition to
physical skills as appropriate, to address genuine needs of the park.
A complete listing of national parks participating in the 2010 Park
Stewards program is available at
www.nationalparks.org/npf-at-work/our-programs/stewards/ .
The Park Stewards Program is made possible with generous support from Bank
of America and other private donors to the National Park Foundation.
About Morristown National Historical Park
During two critical winters of the Revolutionary War, 1777 and 1779–80, the
countryside in and around Morristown, New Jersey, sheltered the main
encampments of the American Continental Army and served as the headquarters
of its commander-in-chief, General George Washington. The National Park
Service at Morristown National Historical Park preserves sites in the
Morristown area occupied by the Continental Army and interprets the history
and subsequent commemoration of these encampments and the extraordinary
fortitude of the officers and enlisted men under Washington’s leadership.
Additionally, the park maintains and extensive library and archival
collection which is utilized for the Primary Source Seminar and this
collection will form the basis of the “Archival Ambassador” program which
the National Park Foundation grant will fund.
About the National Park Foundation
You are the part-owner of 84 million acres of the world’s most treasured
landscapes, ecosystems, and historical sites — all protected in America’s
nearly 400 national parks. Chartered by Congress, the National Park
Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks. We work
hand in hand with the National Park Service to help connect you and all
Americans to the parks, and to make sure that they are preserved for the
generations who will follow. Join us – This is Your Land.
www.nationalparks.org
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/nationalpark
TWITTER https://twitter.com/goparks
