NRB Press Release
May, 2005
Mid Atlantic Region Leads Collaborative Project Returning National History Day in Philadelphia
NRB served as the Philadelphia Regional Coordinator for National History Day (NHD) and led a partnership of thirty-seven cultural and community organizations, bringing the NHD program back to Philadelphia after nearly a 20- year absence. This collaborative brought together history museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, heritage institutions, and related organizations to work collaboratively with the broader community to encourage history centered education and use of local historical assets for such education through the National History Day Program. This unique partnership addressed local education learning requirements and the NHD priority to attract urban school children. The Philadelphia regional competition, named NHD Philly, launched a resource web site (www.ushistory.org/nhdphilly) this past fall, which became the cornerstone of its outreach efforts, by providing key direction to teachers and students on the competition and local cultural resources. On April 17, 2005, the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board gave its monthly radio show time to the NHD Philly project, allowing for V. Chapman-Smith, NRB RA, and Mary Hausler, a Philadelphia teacher, to be interviewed about the project to a listening audience of over 200,000 thousand.
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 On the left, the Archivist of the U.S., Allen Weinstein, is given a tour of the National Constitution Center by Rick Stengel, NCC President and CEO. Above, John McEvoy, NRB program manager, is serving as judge at the competition. |
The NHD Philly competition was held on April 21, 2005 at the National Constitution Center attracted approximately 300 attendees, among them 170 student entrants from Philadelphia middle and high schools, the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Gregory Thornton (Chief Academic Officer for Philadelphia School District), and other local officials. The Archivist's presence was cited in a resolution from the Philadelphia City Council, which was read at the opening ceremony by the Council President's Chief of Staff, Kathleen Murray. The Archivist honored the Philadelphia school children with certificates commending their participation in the National History Day Program. Other NRB staff supporting the competition were: Lee Webster, Meg Phillips, David Miller, John McEvoy, Dianne Ermillo, Matthew Dibiase, David Weber, Dana Keene, Anastasia Iline (intern from France) and David Roland, NRB ARA, served as the primary media contact. The event drew coverage from all of the major media outlets in the region. The collaborative is providing scholarships to each of the winners, underwriting their costs to compete in the Pennsylvania National History Day competition May 11-12. The winners will travel by motor coach as delegation to the state competition.
 Above: Archivist greeting Kathleen Murray, Chief of Staff to the President of City Council. City Council issued a proclamation which cited the Archivist's particip225ation in NHD Phily. On the right is the resolution passed by Philadelphia City Council. |
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"Our work in NRB has been greatly enriched by working with this extraordinary network of partners. This collaborative wanted to make a difference for Philadelphia students, who face many resource challenges in participating in national programs. We were able to link them to some of the most significant cultural materials in our nation and also insure that economic barriers were eliminated. NRB could never have accomplished so much by ourselves alone," says V. Chapman-Smith, Regional Administrator.
National History Day Collaborative
Research Partners:
National Archives - Mid Atlantic Branch
National Constitution Center
City of Philadelphia Records Department/City Archives
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Atwater Kent Museum
Independence Hall Association
PACSCL
The Franklin Institute Science Museum
African American Museum of Philadelphia
Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing
Stenton
College of Physicians Library and Archives
Bartram's Garden
Lights of Liberty
Johnson House
Marian Anderson House
Rosenbach Museum and Library
National Museum of American Jewish History
Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center
American Philosophical Society
American Swedish Historical Museum
Germantown Historical Society
Independence Seaport Museum
Betsy Ross House
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Free Library of Philadelphia
Supporting Partners:
Mayor's Secretary of Education
Philadelphia School District, Teaching American History Projects.
Philadelphia Federal Executive Board
WHYY (PBS), Culture and Arts Program
Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing
Philadelphia Department of Recreation
Heritage Philadelphia Program
Temple University History Department
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work
Museum Council of Philadelphia
Historic Germantown Preserved Sites
Participating Schools and Community Programs
C.C.A. Baldi Middle School
Blair Christian Academy
Thomas Creighton Middle School
Russell H. Conwell Middle Magnet
H. R. Edmonds Middle School
Gear Up Program/Dr. Anna Shaw Middle School
Robert E. Lamberton High School
Julia H. Masterman High School
Mayfair Recreation Center
Mitchell Recreation Center
Olney High School
Overbrook Education Center
Dr. Anna Shaw Middle School
William T. Tilden Middle School
