Claremont, Calif. (July 13, 2009) — The Claremont International Studies Education Project (CISEP) at Pitzer College, along with American Studies Faculty of the Claremont Colleges and the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD,) was awarded a 2009 Teaching American History grant. The grant will support a three-year professional development program in which PUSD teachers will receive rigorous academic training in American history from faculty of the Claremont Colleges, docents from various museums and libraries and training in research based teaching practices from CISEP director Michelle Dymerski.
The Teaching American History program is a federally funded program designed to raise student achievement by improving teachers’ knowledge and understanding of and appreciation for U.S. history. Grant awards assist school districts, in partnership with programs that have content expertise, to develop, document, evaluate and disseminate innovative and cohesive models of professional development.
Pomona Unified School District is a large, urban district on the eastern border of Los Angeles County that serves over 34,000 students in 26 elementary schools, six middle schools, five comprehensive high schools and four alternative schools. In the past few years, PUSD has struggled to deal with the pressures of being designated a program improvement district prompting them to focus its professional development efforts on basic skills remediation and seek outside venues for content rich professional development opportunities.
About The Claremont International Studies Education Project (CISEP)
The Claremont International Studies Education Projectfocuses on professional teacher development at the high school, middle school and K-6 levels in the Eastern Los Angeles County and Western San Bernardino County region. The program is designed to develop teacher leaders through an on-going series of seminars and conferences. CISEP is one of seven regional centers for the California International Studies Project (CISP) and is one of nine California Subject Matter Projects (CMSP). Located at Pitzer College, CISEP is co-sponsored by academic centers at Pitzer College, Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate University.
