Warren Town Council member Chris Stanley loves history, and a national teachers' organization announced this week that the Ponagansett High School teacher is among the best in the country at teaching it.

On Tuesday, the Organization of American Historians awarded Mr. Stanley with its 2018 Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Teacher of the Year Award. The awards is given annually for contributions made by pre-collegiate teachers in the field of American History.

"Mr. Stanley’s approach to teaching history is pedagogically innovative" and historically accurate, the organization said in a statement Tuesday. 

"He undertakes countless hands-on projects and assigns extensive writing for understanding, research, and analysis. His Lewis and Clark Project involves extensive, collaborative research — journal entries that detail specific cultural aspects, identify distinctive viewpoints, and provide thoughtful analysis of the culture studied. Once completed, the Lewis and Clark Project serves as a source of pride for all his students."

The organization also singled out his work making local history vital and relatable to students. Ponagansett High School is in Chepachet, and he recently took students out into the community, working with local cultural institutions and using primary resources and oral histories to explore the social, political and economic reasons for the town’s celebration of important local events such as Elephant Day. A close reading of primary documents and oral histories led one of Mr. Stanley’s classes to investigate the legend of “Betty the Learned Elephant,” which was shot and killed on May 25, 1826. The class produced a feature-length documentary film on the subject.

Mr. Stanley could not be reached prior to deadline Tuesday — he was busy teaching.