Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Sharon Axson (843-747-4175)

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and U.S. Representative Henry Brown (R-South Carolina) today announced Horry County Schools will receive a $981,562 grant to improve teaching programs in American history. “This is an innovative program that will allow American history teachers to continue their education and hone teaching skills,” said Graham, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “Professional development for South Carolina’s teachers provides a better education for our students.” "This grant showcases one of the more creative components of the No Child Left Behind Act," Brown said. "At the same time, it illustrates the program's direct impact on classroom instruction." The funds will be used to improve the quality of history instruction by supporting professional development for teachers of American history. Each summer, 40 teachers will participate in a staff development program that includes the study of primary source documents, backward planning unit design, and online seminars, as well as training in the Paideia instructional model. Seminars will focus on the latest historiography, major historical debates, and primary documents. The project’s goals are to (1) design, pilot, and institutionalize a three-year staff development model; (2) develop methods for working with school administrators to support this model; and (3) design and implement an instructional review process. For this three-year project, Horry County Schools will team with the National Paideia Center, Southeastern Region Vision for Education (SERVE), the National Humanities Center (NHC), the Center for Gifted Education, Francis Marion University, Furman University, and Coastal Carolina University. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. ####