Ms. Valerie Arendas a teacher at Port St. Lucie High in Fort Pierce was among 23 teachers selected to be a Behring Teacher Ambassador for National History Day® during the 2016-2017 school year.
To be selected recipients must show outstanding creativity, commitment and inspiration in developing students’ interest in history education. Candidates must be excellent classroom teachers who are past winners of the Behring Teacher Award in their state or affiliate program. Arendas was awarded the Florida Behring Teacher Award for classroom excellence in National History Day’s Senior division in 2012.
The 2016–2017 National History Day theme is Taking a Stand in History. Throughout the school year, Behring Teacher Ambassadors work with students and teachers around the country to help them better understand the theme and to expand National History Day programs in their regions. Behring Teacher Ambassadors attend a training workshop in July and collaborate with their program’s affiliate coordinator to develop an annual strategy to help students discover the power of history.
“National History Day believes educators are the best resource a student has, and Ms. Arendas exemplifies what it means to be an excellent educator,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “All of these teachers are a credit to their discipline and a driving force behind the success of their students and our programs.”
About National History Day: NHD is a non-profit education organization in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage over half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top student projects have the opportunity to advance to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by Kenneth E. Behring, Patricia Behring, HISTORY®, Jostens, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Joe Weider Foundation, and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information, visit nhd.org.
