Grant to help teachers gain new skills

For several years Jim McNeill has served as a master teacher through the National Council For History Education.

The Silver Bluff High School teacher gives workshops throughout the country and has sat in on many others.

"I'd love for our teachers to experience those kinds of workshops," McNeill said.

Actually, that's going to happen over the next three years. Aiken County School District officials credit McNeill as the driving force behind the Sand River History Project - a $981,798 federal grant that will provide professional development in history for K-12 teachers in Aiken, Saluda and Edgefield counties.

The focus will be on American history, including South Carolina history, with Aiken serving as the lead district. The three-year grant has the potential to become a five-year grant.

McNeill "has done a lot an outstanding job of doing all the legwork for this," said Aiken Associate Superintendent Dr. Kevin O'Gorman. "These creates a great opportunity for our teachers as well as the kids."

Also collaborating with the project are USC Aiken, the S.C. Department of Archives and History, the S.C. Geographic Alliance at the University of South Caroline, the National Council for History Education (NCHE) and the American Institute for History Education. USCA history professor Alexia Helsley has been an incredible resource and will serve as an academic adviser for the project, said McNeill.

He started working on the grant early in 2008 before writing the application in March of this year. NCHE staffers provided guidance throughout the process, McNeill said.

He cited the Bradley Commission on History, which issued a report critical of the lack of U.S. history knowledge among American students.

"That's where this is coming from," said McNeill, "providing opportunities to get U.S. history training, whether it's kindergarten or AP. We had such a positive response on a teacher survey to get more U.S. history training."

Last fall McNeill was named as one of four U.S. teachers of the year of social studies by the National Council for the Social Studies. He is also a former Aiken School District teacher of the year. At the time of the national award, Silver Bluff principal Todd Bornscheuer said McNeill has managed to inspire students to levels beyond their own expectations.

"The feedback from his (McNeill's) national presentations is just amazing," Bornscheuer said. "Whether he's working with teens or adult educators, he has that ability to captivate and grab them and make them feel they're living a part of history."

A few years ago the school district obtained a smaller, but similar grant. The presenters - including an academic historian, curriculum specialist and classroom teachers - were delighted with the response and enthusiasm of the district's teachers, McNeill said. The new grant specifically provides elementary teachers the chance to participate and build their skills.

In addition to professional development opportunities within the district, the grant will offer trips for teachers for regional training each summer in St. Augustine, Atlanta and other cities. A total of 50 schools will get specialized Internet resources. Another software program that the schools will receive will focus on African-American history.

Saluda superintendent Dr. David Mathis - a former Aiken associate superintendent - said that staff development often focuses on reading and math and in recent years, a new emphasis on science.

"The social studies content has gone lacking," said Mathis. "This grant will provide great opportunities for history resources, especially for elementary teachers."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.