The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is in its sixth year of partnering with area school districts in Wisconsin and Minnesota in providing content-rich professional development in history through major multi-year Teaching American History grant projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  The current project, the Central Wisconsin History Collaborative (CWHC), is a partnership of the School District of La Crosse and UW-La Crosse.

It engages teachers of grades four through twelve in CESA #4, CESA #5, and the School District of La Crosse in a three-year history education program that includes an American history survey class, three summer colloquia, five school-year retreats, and a teaching fellow program that utilizes history educators from previous Teaching American History Grants as leaders.  Additional partners include the Organization of American Historians, National History Day, and faculty from various regional universities.

Teacher participants will examine American history from the colonial era to the present, focusing on the development and reform of U.S. politics, the evolution of American society and culture, and the place of the U.S. in the world.  Summer colloquia themes are:  "Colonial and Early Past: Relevant National Legacies," "Expanding American Democracy," and "America in the 20th Century."  Throughout each school year, teaching fellows will assist teachers new to the program with history education resources and strategies to enhance students' learning of American history.

Project Staff: