For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2004
Department of Education Announces New Hampshire
History Teacher of the Year Award Winner
Thomas Gilfoyle of Pelham, who is Social Studies Head Teacher at Nashua North High School, was today named New Hampshire winner of the new Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award. Gilfoyle will receive a $1,000 honorarium, a certificate of recognition, and a core archive of history books and materials donated in his honor to his school’s library. This prestigious new honor, a national competition inaugurated earlier this year by First Lady Laura Bush, is co-sponsored by Preserve America and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and administered in New Hampshire by the Department of Education. Gilfoyle will receive his award at a ceremony at Nashua North to be held Thursday, September 16, at 2 pm.
Mrs. Bush formally announced the new Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award at a White House ceremony in January. The Teacher of the Year Award is designed to promote, celebrate, encourage and honor the teaching of history in America’s classrooms. Fifty-four state and territory coordinators have been working since March to elicit teacher nominations from principals and history department heads. Despite the limited turnaround time, the response resulted in talented, energetic history teachers from every state and territory being honored with nominations.
In speaking about Preserve America, Laura Bush stressed the importance of American history by saying: “An understanding and appreciation of history makes every American a more engaged citizen.” In behalf of Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, co-founders of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the institute issued this comment: “The Gilder Lehrman Institute is honored to participate in this ongoing national effort to identify and pay tribute to these hard-working, imaginative and inspiring teachers, whose work is so crucial to our understanding of our common heritage.”
The Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award will honor annually one outstanding K-12 teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory. The New Hampshire selection committee included Arthur Pease, Chairman of the Social Studies Department, Lebanon High School, John Krueckeberg, Assistant Professor of History, Plymouth State University, and Ann Ackerman, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education, Rivier College. Gilfoyle was nominated by Interdisciplinary Curriculum Supervisor Jane Weber, who praised Gilfoyle’s use of primary source materials to engage students in the history he teaches.
Supporting Gilfoyle’s nomination were numerous expressions of support from former students, students’ parents, and co-workers. From a parent:”My daughter describes his passion as not an obvious, over-the-top style, rather it was as if he planted a seed in each student at the beginning of the year and continued to nurture it so that everyone’s enthusiasm grew…The resulting impact for my daughter was a turnaround, from a somewhat blasé attitude toward history to a deep, long-lasting passion.” Another parent: “Thank you for making a difference in my son’s life.” A third parent recalled: “(My daughter) tells me that according to Mr. Gilfoyle, history is a story with colorful characters, plots, and themes; and there is no better storyteller than Mr. Gilfoyle.” A student: “I remember you as a warm, concerned teacher committed to teaching as well as pushing your students to think-a real feat in high school.” A co-worker: “(Gilfoyle) is a student of history as well as a teacher…he continues to seek out the best recent scholarship in American history.” A student teacher: “He has the capacity to keep students riveted to a talk on any subject and have them totally engaged.” Another student who is now a teacher: “So many teachers I’ve had were happy to accept just the “right” answer. In Mr. Gilfoyle’s class it was less about right and wrong and more about learning to defend your point of view with solid evidence and clearly presented ideas.” A parent: “The lessons you have imparted with your “Jefferson Debate”, “Stock Market”, and “Yalta Conference” exercises have been especially valuable as they have explored the vagaries of real life- dealing with others whose views and opinions invariably clash with our own…”
This summer, a national Preserve America History Teacher of the Year was selected from among the state honorees. The national selection committee included David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University, Elaine Reed, Executive Director of the National Council for History Education, and Eric Rothschild, Professor at Columbia Teachers College and Manhattan College and a national figure in Advanced Placement U.S. History. The national winner and his or her nominating supervisor, will be flown to a recognition ceremony in Washington or New York in early fall, to mark the start of the 2004-2005 school year. In addition, plans are underway to bring the national History Teacher of the Year honoree on a multi-city tour to promote history teaching as a national priority.
For further information, contact Kenneth Relihan, Preserve America state coordinator, NHDOE, at (603) 271-6151 or krelihan@ed.state.nh.us