NEH Summer Institutes and Landmarks Workshops
The NEH is once again funding Landmark workshops (one week) and institutes (one to four weeks) for teachers this summer. The Institutes are designed to help teachers "deepen their understanding of significant topics in the humanities and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching." The Landmark workshops are designed to help teachers "incorporate place-based approaches to humanities teaching and scholarship."
Everyone I know who's participated in one of these has found it inspiring and rejuvenating. Some people have gone so far as to call them life changing.
Programs are offered in residential, virtual, and combined formats. Participants receive stipends that are based upon program format and duration. (Stipends for one-week residential programs are $1,300. Stipends for one-week virtual programs are $650. There are larger stipends for multi-week programs). Many projects offer continuing education and/or graduate credit.
Applications are due March 6, 2026, and the programs are quite competitive (although 20% of the spots are reserved for educators with five or fewer years of teaching experience). Bottom line: if this opportunity interests you, give yourself some time to pull together a great application.
There are very few with a western theme this year, but I was intrigued by 250 Years of Teaching with Maps (Chicago, July 13-31) as well as The Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, History and Culture of the Mississippi Delta (Cleveland, Mississippi, June 21-27 and July 12-18). View all options.
Workshop at Heart Mountain, Wyoming
In past years, the NEH funded a Landmarks workshop at Heart Mountain, a World War II Japanese Internment Camp in Wyoming. This year, the Heart Mountain Foundation is reprising that workshop--Lessons from Incarceration--with funding from the Walk Memorial Foundation. Thirty teachers grades 5-12 will come study about the incarceration at Heart Mountain's new Mineta-Simpson Institution, June 14-19. Participating teachers will receive a $2,000 stipend to cover expenses and will receive a certificate showing 30 Professional Development hours. Participants who would like to opt for university credit can earn credits from the University of Wyoming. Learn more.
PS. It's not too late to register for our January 20, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Social Studies Third Tuesdays PD: Under-told Stories. History is full of people from different backgrounds, many of whose stories don't make the textbooks. Learn about resources to integrate African American, Chinese, and women's history into your social studies classroom. Register for this session.
Don't Forget About the Civics Bee
The February 3, 2026, application deadline for the Montana Civics Bee is coming up fast, but 6th, 7th, and 8th graders still have time to pitch a solution to a community problem in an essay for a chance to win cash prizes!
- 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students must submit a 750-word (max) essay proposing their ideas for improving their community by February 3rd, 2026.
- Essayists will be invited to participate in a regional bee near them in spring 2026 for the chance to win cash prizes.
- Regional Civics Bees will take place in Kalispell, Helena, and Miles City
- Finalists from each regional bee will be invited to compete in the Montana State Civics Bee in Helena in June of 2026 for the chance to win cash prizes at the state level.
- The winner of the State Bee will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC to compete in the National Civics Bee in fall 2026 for the chance to win $100,000 towards college.
- Additionally, the school that produces the winner of Montana will receive a $5,000 donation!
Learn more and find a link to apply.
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