Representatives of twenty-two organizations and projects convened in Washington on September 21 for the fourth in a series of meetings to promote coordination and collaboration in support of precollegiate history teaching.

As then president of the AHA and OAH, Louis Harlan convened the first of these meetings in March 1989, bringing together a core of eight organizations and projects to develop an agenda in this area for the two meeting sponsors. Participation in the meetings has now tripled, and the agenda has shifted to the establishment of the National History Education Network (NHEN), a formal coalition patterned on the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. NHEN will bring together professional organizations, learned societies, public and cultural institutions, special projects, and government agencies to influence state-level policymaking related to history education and disseminate information on professional development opportunities for history teachers.

At the meeting this September, participants acted on recommendations from subcommittees in regard to mission and goals, organizational structure, funding, and an institutional base. All attending approved in principle a mission statement presented by the AHA and the OAH and agreed to seek formal approval by their boards in time for an organizational meeting during the AHA's annual meeting in New York in December.

For additional information on NHEN, contact James B. Gardner, Deputy Executive Director, American Historical Association, 400 A St., SE, Washington, DC 20003.