Teachers in these north-central Pennsylvania districts have had limited access to history-related professional development. The project is divided into four tiers. In Tier One, 40 teachers will research and study the political, economic, legal, social and ideological contrasts in history; each year, these teachers will attend a 2-day fall colloquium, a 3-day winter colloquium, a 2-day field study, 4 half days of research and review, and a 5-day summer institute. All 432 secondary social studies teachers and all 503 elementary-level teachers in the consortium will attend 1.5 days of CICERO training as part of Tier Two; these sessions will demonstrate how to integrate multimedia and new technology into history classrooms. All American history teachers will be invited to attend monthly online professional development sessions as part of Tier Three. Tier Four will consist of 20 teachers, who will create a bimonthly history book club and discussion group. The themes will examine traditional American history through the lenses of conflict and cooperation. Teachers will create their own Web 2.0 site using 21st century skills and features like wikis and blogs, develop peer-reviewed U.S. history teacher narratives and lessons, and read biographies and other histories. As a result, they will be able to show students how to research substantive historical content and how to collaborate with fellow students, teachers, historians and history education specialists to create historical narratives. The project Web site will be a central repository for products and information, including colloquium schedules, lesson plans, digital resources and photos of various activities. In addition, the site will include teacher-vetted student work.

In this diverse Philadelphia district, 72 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and none of the targeted high schools has met its annual yearly progress goals. Teachers in this project will participate in (1) 10 day-long symposia at Saint Joseph's University, focusing on historical research through technology, student evaluations and core content-related teaching practices; (2) an annual 5-day summer institute, featuring historical content, teaching strategies, review standards, and the development of lesson plans and classroom-ready resources and materials; (3) a program of regular student pre- and post testing, in which teachers will meet in teams after school to review state standards and the district’s pacing guide, prepare monthly or unit pre- and posttests, and give the tests to their students; and (4) a teacher network, which will offer follow-up support between monthly meetings. The project will involve four overlapping cohorts of 30: Cohort A (Years 1-2), Cohort B (Years 2-3), Cohort C (Years 3-4) and Cohort D (Years 4-5). Each cohort will include two representatives from 15 schools. The most academically challenged schools will be targeted first for participation. The project will provide a standards-aligned study of American history from the crafting of the Constitution to recent times, examining the issues, themes, events and interpretations related to the question, "What did freedom mean?" Teachers will learn to use content-related teaching strategies, including primary documents, artifacts, first-hand accounts, illustrations and site visits to translate freshly mastered content into classroom lessons. Reviewed lessons and other resources generated by the teachers will be posted online.