Nebraska Educator Earns Nation's Top History Educator Award

Nebraska Educator Earns Nation's Top History Educator Award

The History Channel(R) and National History Day Recognize James Barstow, 'a fabulous, inspiring and supportive teacher who instills a passion for history.'

WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The History Channel(R) and National History Day are proud to announce that the 2006 Outstanding History Educator Award is presented to James Barstow, the Social Studies teacher at Science Focus Program of Lincoln, Neb., Public Schools, an innovative learning community where students play an active role in defining their learning environment and education.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO )

The History Channel presents the award annually at the National History Day Awards Ceremony to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the improvement of history education. Barstow's passion for history and learning inspires his students to succeed in National History Day competitions on the district, state and national levels and motivates fellow history educators to embrace National History Day as a means to achievement for their students. The History Channel will award Barstow $5,000 and an extensive video library for his school.

The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 15, in Cole Field House on the University of Maryland campus. This ceremony is the culminating event of a week of activities in which more than 2,000 student scholars, narrowed from a field of over half a million, present history projects to national judges for top honors. The Awards Ceremony presentation is available via a live Webcast at The History Channel's website: http://www.history.com/classroom .

On Thursday, June 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., ET/PT, a Live Webcast will showcase winners of the National History Day 2006 contest. Log on to http://www.history.com/classroom or http://www.nhd.org/ to access a LIVE Webcast of the Awards Ceremony.

Satellite Feed Opportunity is scheduled for June 15th, 2006, 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET. Transponder: IA6C/15 (Intelsat 6C/15) analog (analog C band), 930 West Longitude, uplink 6225 Horizontal, downlink 4000 Vertical. Transmissions Trouble #202-408-3424.

"As an educator for 30 years, Jim Barstow has demonstrated his passion for teaching and history. His commitment to his students and their engagement in discovering history for themselves fuels their desire to explore and learn. We are delighted to join National History Day in presenting this award recognizing his dedication to his students and to making history a dynamic and vital part of the curriculum," said Dr. Libby O'Connell, Chief Historian, The History Channel.

"Jim Barstow has distinguished himself as one of the most outstanding educators I have had the privilege to know," said Dr. Cathy Gorn, executive director of National History Day. "We are thrilled that he enthusiastically uses NHD to motivate students and colleagues to engage in history and achieve success."

Mr. Barstow has been teaching in the Lincoln Public Schools since 1976, and at the Science Focus Program, known as "The Zoo School" since 1997. Among his many accomplishments, Barstow has created a special place for history in the curriculum at a school dedicated to science, so much so that annually many students choose to participate in National History Day instead of Science Fair.

Mr. Barstow ensures that history and his students' work has a life beyond the classroom and National History Day. Projects created by his students have found additional venues in the "real world." A documentary on the Nebraska State Capitol is shown to classes of third graders learning about the state's history. A documentary on the life of George Norris, former Nebraska Senator, is available for viewing at the George Norris Museum, and another National History Day documentary is used to educate visitors at Boys Town.

As a classroom educator, Mr. Barstow has taught American History, World History, Russian History, World Religions, and Western Civilization among other course, and has been recognized throughout his career with honors and awards for his teaching, including a DAR Outstanding American History Teacher Award.

Mr. Barstow is responsible for countless students and teachers becoming inspired and successfully involved in National History Day.

National History Day, Inc. is not just one day, but a yearlong education organization that makes history come alive through educator professional development and active student learning. Through publications and education programs, National History Day trains teachers to move students beyond textbooks and expand their classrooms to include libraries, museums and archives. Nationwide 40,000 educators currently use National History Day curriculum materials. The program is having a profound impact on education and received the Charles Frankel Prize for Public Programming from the National Endowment for the Humanities. For additional information on NHD visit http://www.nhd.org/ .

The History Channel(R) is one of the leading cable television networks featuring compelling original, non-fiction specials and series that bring history to life in a powerful and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network provides an inviting place where people experience history in new and exciting ways enabling them to connect their lives today to the great lives and events of the past that provide a blueprint for the future. The History Channel has earned three Peabody Awards, six News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 89 million Nielsen subscribers. The website is located at http://www.history.com/ .

Press Only: For more information and photography please visit us on the web at http://www.historychannelpress.com/ .

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The History Channel

CONTACT: Chuck Wentzel for The History Channel, +-1-201-362-6183,
Chuckw07030@aol.com; Mark Robinson for National History Day, +1-301-314-9542,
mark@nhd.org

Web site: http://www.history.com/
http://www.history.com/classroom
http://www.historychannelpress.com/
http://www.nhd.org/

-------
Profile: intent