Some area students may sigh at the thought of poring over the long-reaching effects of the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration or the daily life of Americans in urban centers during the Industrial Era, but a recently awarded federal grant to New York city schools looks to intensify the focus on American history in some Lower Manhattan schools.
As part of the $17 million grant entitled “Teaching American History” which was awarded to schools across New York State, Region 9 was one of seven recipients of funding in the New York City region announced on August 18 by New York Governor George Pataki and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.
The grant, which was allocated to improve students’ aptitude in American history at the elementary, junior high and high school levels, will inject Region 9 with about $927,121 for the coming school year affecting schools in Districts 1 and 2 in neighborhoods such as Battery Park City, Chinatown and Tribeca. Fellow Region 9 schools in Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side and the Bronx will also receive a portion of the funding.
“We’re proud that these new grants will allow us to bring American history alive for New York’s students and provide our teachers with greater opportunities to improve performance and strengthen our students’ understanding of American History,” said Governor Pataki in a prepared statement.
While the entire city netted nearly $7 million in funding from the federal program, the State Department of Education could not provide a breakdown in funding per student or the distribution of funding given to Region 9. Part of the grant’s criterion however, requires that the recipient school create joint programs on American History with museums, non-profit organizations or libraries.
—David H. Ellis
WWW Downtown Express
