Grantee: Menominee County Intermediate School District, Menominee, MI
Project Name: Marinette-Menominee Counties History Teachers Collaboration Professional Development Program
Project Director: Wendy Woodworth (906) 863-5665
Funding: $648,064
Number of Teachers Served: No information available
Number of School Districts Served: 6
Number of Students Served: No information available

The Menominee County Intermediate School District will provide an extensive professional development program to increase teachers' in-depth content knowledge of American History and instructional practices to improve student achievement. These goals will be achieved through three professional development programs: establishing the Marinette-Menominee History Teachers Collaboration to serve K-12 history teachers; using technology to access primary documents and develop effective historical content presentations; and developing "Understanding by Design" curriculum units to assist faculty in developing and refining instructional practices. Each year, teachers participating in the program will be immersed in a different topic selected for in-depth study, such as "The Impact of the Great Lakes on American History" or "Environmental History of the Great Lakes Regions." American History topics will be studied from local, regional, and national perspectives through an intensive summer institute of presentations and monthly meetings conducted by area historians. The Menominee County Intermediate School District will partner with its four constituent districts, the School District of Marinette, Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin-Marinette on this project. Students served in this rural and remote area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have low achievement records on statewide social studies assessments, and a high percentage of the student population is economically disadvantaged.