Essex Heritage Recognizes Swampscott Schools, Teachers

Photo credit: Essex Heritage

A couple of Swampscott Middle School teachers wanted to help their students ”take a walk in someone else’s shoes,” and Essex Heritage recently decided to recognize Swampscott Public Schools with a partnership reward as a result of the project.

Teachers Lindsay Hodgson and Karen Reback led more than 100 Swampscott fifth graders in a study of the greater Lynn shoe industry from the 17th through 20th centuries. The project, titled “ “Take a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes” - A Study of the Greater Lynn Shoe Industry from the 17th - 20th Century,” was completed in partnership with the Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts.

At its annual meeting on Oct. 15, Essex Heritage awarded Swampscott Public Schools along with the Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts with one of its 2015 Pioneer in Partnership Awards.

“Each year, Essex Heritage and the National Park Service present the Pioneer in Partnership Awards to individuals and organizations who exemplify the commission’s spirit of collaboration,” according to a press release. “The award recognizes those who build partnerships and celebrate the nationally significant places that form the Essex National Heritage Area.”

The project, according to the press release, “exemplified the power of partnership in place-based education” as students learned about “the region’s shoe manufacturing history from pre-colonial to present day - a seminal trade deeply ingrained in the cultural DNA of the heritage area.