June 15, 2007
(Spokane Valley, WA) - A Central Valley elementary teacher has received an STCU grant to attend the summer Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute in Virginia.
Karen Carpenter, a fifth grade teacher at Opportunity Elementary, will join 600 teachers nationwide at the Williamsburg, Va., institute to receive first-hand, onsite training in American history, from the early settlements to the Revolutionary War.
"I am thrilled and honored to be representing Central Valley School District and the greater Spokane area," says Carpenter. "I will endeavor to bring this experience back to my colleagues and students."
The Teacher Institute offers participants an extensive background in colonial history from the first English settlement at Jamestown to the American Revolution. Teachers participate in re-enactments of 18th century events and meet historians and interpreters portraying historical figures.
According to Carpenter, participants will share strategies to improve instruction, raise literacy levels and enhance historical thinking skills. Teachers who attend the Institute agree to conduct in-service training sessions to share their knowledge with other teachers. "This is such a hands-on opportunity," she says. "I am grateful to STCU for supporting education in such a tangible way."
"STCU has a long history of supporting the professionalism of teachers by encouraging involvement in growth experiences," says Kathleen Kozlowski, STCU's business development and community relations director. "The STCU grant was created to do just that."
According to Kozlowski, STCU joins credit unions in other states to send local teachers to the institute and to fund all expenses.
Carpenter has taught for three years at Opportunity Elementary. She holds a bachelor's degree from San Jose State University and received her master's degree in education from Whitworth College.
Educational outreach initiatives at Colonial Williamsburg embody the motto adopted at the dawn of the restoration of the city that gave birth to the nation's principles and values: "That the future may learn from the past."
