Stonington Teacher Selected For National Summer Webinar Series

Press release from Connecticut Democracy Center:

Aug. 18, 2020

Mr. Christopher Hurtgen, a teacher at Pine Point School in Stonington, is one of only 98 teachers selected for a National History Day® (NHD) summer professional development program. This new course focuses on using online Library of Congress resources to develop and support historical arguments and is a feature of NHD’s membership in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium. Over the course of the series, Mr. Hurtgen has explored digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress, engaged in four live webinar programs and discussions with fellow educators from across the country, and developed resources to use with students in his classroom.

Mr. Hurtgen was nominated by Connecticut History Day, the NHD affiliate in Connecticut, which is coordinated through The Connecticut Democracy Center.

“As a TPS Consortium member, we are thrilled to utilize the vast array of digitized primary sources made available online by the Library of Congress,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “At the conclusion of this course, Mr. Hurtgen will be able to share with his students key strategies for researching, supporting, and presenting historical arguments backed up by these primary sources. This is a crucial skill in teaching and learning good history, and is especially valuable now when so many students and teachers across the country are engaged in remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

As one of the selected teachers, Mr. Hurtgen receives free tuition, graduate credits, and materials for the online program.

About National History Day® (NHD)
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, which seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, The Better Angels Society, Jacqueline B. Mars, and BBVA. For more information, visit nhd.org.

About Connecticut History Day
Connecticut History Day (CHD) is one of 58 affiliate programs of National History Day (NHD). CHD annually engages over 4,000 middle- and high-school students in historical research, interpretation, and creative expression through project based learning. The program seeks to bring students, teachers, museums, and scholars together to support young people as they engage in history. Led by the Connecticut Democracy Center, CHD is presented with major funding and partnership support from CT Humanities. Program support given by: the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area and the New Haven Museum. Follow Connecticut History Day on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or visit the program’s website at histordayct.org.

About The Connecticut Democracy Center
The Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC) provides people with a lifetime pathway to active citizenship and the tools to take civic action in their own communities. CTDC strengthens civic engagement in the Constitution State by providing comprehensive and unbiased educational programming and outreach on state government, civics, history, and citizenship, particularly through its two signature programs: Kid Governor® and Connecticut History Day.

This press release was produced by the Connecticut Democracy Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.