Philadelphia Educator Earns Nation's Top History Educator Award

Philadelphia Educator Earns Nation's Top History Educator Award

History(TM) and National History Day Recognize V. Chapman-Smith for Developing "A Model Urban Program That is Accessible to all of Philadelphia's Students."

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- History(TM) and National History Day are proud to announce that the 2008 Outstanding History Educator Award is presented to V. Chapman-Smith, Regional Administrator, National Archives and Records Administration.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080416/NYW113LOGO )

History 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. Ms. Chapman-Smith is responsible for inspiring teachers, students and the community to get involved with history by rebuilding the Philadelphia NHD program as well as contributing to the success of the state and national program. In recognition of her work, History will award Ms. Chapman-Smith $5,000 and an extensive video library.

The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 19, 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 History's website: www.History.com/classroom.

On Thursday, June 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., ET/PT, a Live Webcast will showcase winners of the National History Day 2008 contest. Log on to History.com/classroom or www.nhd.org to access a LIVE Webcast of the Awards Ceremony.

Satellite Feed Opportunity is scheduled for June 19th, 2008, 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET.

Satellite: Galaxy 26 @ 93 degrees West, Transponder: 15 c-band analog, Downlink: 4000 Vertical. Uplink: 6225 Horizontal, Uplink: Atlantic Video, Transmissions Trouble #202-408-3424.

"As a Regional Administrator of NARA, Ms. V. Chapman-Smith has dedicated her professional life to the preservation of history so that current and future generations will benefit from its lessons. She has made it her mission to connect students to history and to their community," said Dr. Libby O'Connell, VP Corporate Outreach and Chief Historian, AETN. "We are delighted to join National History Day in presenting the 2008 Outstanding History Educator Award recognizing her creative and tireless efforts not only for Philadelphia but for the entire state of Pennsylvania and the nation."

"V. has been a tremendous asset to National History Day. Few have done as much to spread the word or to develop the history education experience. V.'s leadership in National History Day Philadelphia is exemplary, and we're happy to see her recognized for her work," said Cathy Gorn, executive director of National History Day.

After arriving in Philadelphia in 2002, Ms. Chapman-Smith spearheaded the effort to build a strong National History Day program that is available to all Philadelphia students by enlisting the support of organizations, institutions and businesses. As a result of Ms. Chapman-Smith's dedication, Philadelphia students pay no fees to participate in the regional program and those who qualify for state contests attend on full scholarship.

Convinced that a successful regional program depends on a strong state and national program, Ms. Chapman-Smith has been instrumental in strengthening the Pennsylvania and National History Day programs, as well. She actively participates by authoring articles, training teachers, and creating partnerships with organizations that create opportunities for NHD and for students. After facilitating a Pennsylvania Governor's Grant for $100,000, the state program is able to flourish.

Although Ms. Chapman-Smith is the recipient of numerous citations and awards, perhaps one of her finest achievements is best described by a tenth grade Philadelphia public school teacher, "V. Chapman-Smith has made all this learning, growth, and enthusiasm for history possible."

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 30,000 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 www.nhd.org.

History(TM) and History HD(TM) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning, original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connects history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the networks' program offerings are hit series such as Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, Cities of The Underworld and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including King, Life After People, 1968 With Tom Brokaw, Lost Book of Nostradamus, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed and Sherman's March. History has earned four Peabody Awards, three Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 10 News & 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(TM) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take A Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. History's website, located at www.History.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more.

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Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080416/NYW113LOGO
Source: History(TM)

CONTACT: Susan Raisch +1-718-667-5576, sraisch@verizon.net for History;
Noah Shaw +1-301-314-8379, noah@nhd.org, for National History Day

Web site:

http://www.history.com/
http://www.nhd.org/

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