CNU Alumna Selected For Holocaust Fellowship Program
News Release - March 17, 2003
contact:
Denise Waters
dwaters@cnu.edu
757-594-7331
(Newport News, VA)- Laura Pritchard, a 1991 graduate of Christopher Newport University and an English teacher at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, has been selected as a participant in the 2002-2003 Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program. The Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program, a program funded in 1996 by a generous gift from the Mandel Associated Foundations, is developing a national corps of skilled secondary school educators who serve as leaders in Holocaust education in their schools, their communities, and their professional organizations.
Every year, 25 teachers are selected across America to spend a week at the Holocaust Memorial Museum where they will attend lectures and workshops. Those chosen show evidence of extensive knowledge of Holocaust history, successful teaching experience, and participation in community and professional organizations. It is expected that teachers will have taught the Holocaust for a minimum of five years. This program is specifically designed for secondary school educators in United States schools.
The teachers will participate in a five-day summer Institute at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, designed to immerse participants in advanced historical and pedagogical issues. Following the summer Institute, Fellows are expected to create and implement an outreach project in their schools, communities, or professional organizations. In May of the following year, Fellows will attend a follow–up program at the Museum to assess their various efforts and to continue their study of the Holocaust with Museum staff and noted speakers.
Pritchard has currently been working with the Holocaust Commission and the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater on their biannual teacher’s conference. She is also designing a curriculum entitled, "Teaching the Holocaust in 3-5 Days: A Curriculum for English Teachers". Pritchard says that her time at CNU has helped her develop as a teacher. “I had excellent professors who inspired me. I got to know each of them because of the small classes and I learned a lot,” Pritchard said.
For more information about the Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program, contact Daniel Napolitano at (202) 314-7853 or via e-mail at dnapolitano@ushmm.org.