AHA K-16 Collaboratives

The Teaching Division is pleased to introduce a new web site for K-16 collaborative projects. For years a variety of institutions—university history departments, university schools of education, historical museums, government libraries and archival centers, both public and independent schools, as well as individual educators and writers--have undertaken a wealth of projects as collaborative projects designed to strengthen history education for K-16 students. Up until now, however, such projects and their stewards have largely been isolated from each other—left to succeed or fail under the time-worn injunction of "every tub on its own bottom." At a time of rising public concern, if not alarm, about the state of history knowledge among our school-age children, however, there is also a growing interest within the profession in enhancing the quality of outreach programs to the schools.

This web site is a tangible expression of that interest. Here we hope to offer in one handy location an archive of current collaborative projects, together with opportunity for analysis of educational objectives, pointers on what makes a good project, suggestions for potential sources of funding, awareness of problems and pitfalls, and appeals for cooperation/and or alliance among various programs. In the end we hope that the record inscribed here will inspire or challenge historians across the country to adopt a tangible model of outreach appropriate for their own institution. Experience teaches that successful programs involve a close partnership between teachers-as-history-professionals and their academic or "professional historian" colleagues. We hope, therefore, that this site will serve as a rare meeting-ground for a dialogue that truly stretches across the arc of K-16 history educators! As this web site takes shape, please let us know what you think of its basic format, including suggestions/critique to improve its usefulness to you and your colleagues. Let us therefore look forward to a better (understanding of the) past. Leon Fink, Teaching Division, Vice President

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