How to Apply - African Americans in the Making of Early New England

NEH LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS

APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Please review the eligibility criteria for participation in Landmarks workshops at http://www.neh.gov/files/divisions/education/eligibility/landmarks_eligibility_criteria.pdf.

Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops provide K-12 educators with the opportunity to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics and issues in American history and culture, while providing them with direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical and cultural sites and the use of archival and other primary evidence.

Prior to completing an application to a specific workshop, please review the project website and consider carefully what is expected in terms of residence and attendance, reading and writing requirements, and general participation in the work of the project.

NEH Landmarks workshops involve teachers in collaboration with core faculty and visiting scholars to study the best available scholarship on a specific landmark or cluster of landmarks. Workshops, offered twice in one summer, accommodate 36 teachers in each one-week session. Participants benefit by gaining a sense of the importance of historical and cultural places, by making connections between the workshop content and what they teach, and by developing individual teaching and/or research materials.

Please Note: An individual may apply to up to two NEH summer projects (NEH Landmarks Workshops, NEH Summer Seminars, or NEH Summer Institutes), but may participate in only one.

SELECTION CRITERIA

A selection committee (consisting in most cases of the project director, one of the project scholars, and a veteran teacher) will read and evaluate all properly completed applications.

Special consideration is given to the likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally and personally from the workshop experience. It is important, therefore, to address each of the following factors in the application essay:

your professional background;
your interest in the subject of the workshop;
your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and
how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service.

Five workshop spaces will be reserved for teachers who have been teaching for five years or less. While recent participants are eligible to apply, selection committees are charged to give first consideration to applicants who have not participated in an NEH-supported seminar, institute, or workshop. Additionally, preference is given to applicants who would significantly contribute to the diversity of the workshop.

STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

Teachers selected to participate as NEH Summer Scholars will receive a $1200 stipend at the end of the workshop session. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books, and ordinary living expenses. Stipends are taxable.

NEH Summer Scholars are required to attend all scheduled meetings and to engage fully as professionals in all project activities. Participants who do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend.

At the end of the workshop, NEH Summer Scholars will be asked to provide an assessment of their workshop experience, especially in terms of its value to their personal and professional development. These confidential online evaluations will become a part of the project’s grant file.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Before you attempt to complete an application, please study the project website, which contains detailed information about the topic under study, project requirements and expectations of the participants, the academic and institutional setting, and specific provisions for lodging and subsistence.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

A completed application consists of the following items:

the completed application cover sheet,
a résumé or short biography with contact information for a professional reference, and
an application essay (no longer than two double-spaced pages) as outlined below.

Application Cover Sheet

The application cover sheet must be filled out online at this address:

https://securegrants.neh.gov/education/participants/

Please follow the prompts; be sure to indicate your first and second choices of workshop dates. Before you click the “submit” button, print out the cover sheet and add it to your application package. Then click “submit.” At this point you will be asked if you want to fill out a cover sheet for another project. If you do, follow the prompts to select the other project and repeat the process.

Note that filling out a cover sheet is not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and filling out a cover sheet for several projects. A full application consists of all of the items listed above, submitted to the project director.

You must submit a separate cover sheet online for each project to which you are applying in order to generate a unique tracking number for each application. Do not copy and paste a new cover sheet.

Résumé and Reference

Please include a résumé or brief biography detailing your educational qualifications and professional experience. Be sure the résumé provides the name, title, phone number, and e-mail address of one professional reference.

Application Essay

The application essay should be no more than two double‑spaced pages. The essay should address your professional background; interest in the subject of the workshop; special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE

Completed applications should be submitted to Lynne Manring, Deerfield Teachers’ Center, PO Box 428, Deerfield, MA 01342-0428 not the NEH, and postmarked no later than March 1, 2019. Application materials sent to the NEH will not be reviewed.

Successful applicants will be notified of their selection on Friday, March 29, 2019, and they will have until April 5, 2019 to accept or decline the offer.

Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (NEH Landmarks Workshop, NEH Summer Seminar, or NEH Summer Institute), you may not withdraw in order to accept an offer from another program.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or sexual orientation. For further information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. TDD: 202/606‑8282 (for the hearing impaired only).