Samantha Hedden, a teacher at St. Philomena School, is one of only 15 educators nationwide to be chosen to work with National History Day and the Library of Congress to write and test a series of five student guides.

PORTSMOUTH — Samantha Hedden, a teacher at St. Philomena School, has been selected by National History Day (NHD) as one of only 15 educators nationwide who will create a valuable new classroom resource. 

Over the next several months, Ms. Hedden and a cohort of contributors will work directly with NHD and Library of Congress staff to write and test a series of five student guides based on the five NHD project categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, and website. 

These student guides will be the newest addition to the wealth of materials provided by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium for educators in the United States and around the world. The guides will help students find, analyze, and integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress into their NHD projects. 

Ms. Hedden’s experience will include advanced virtual training with the Library of Congress and its TPS partners. Upon the guides’ completion, NHD will distribute the series online.

“Ms. Hedden and her fellow contributors bring many years of classroom and project-based teaching experience to this endeavor,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, NHD’s executive director. “Through this new series, these teachers will showcase the Library’s primary source collections for the benefit of National History Day students for many years to come. We are grateful for this opportunity to work with the Library of Congress as creation partners for this important project.”

The cohort of 15 teachers will begin its work with National History Day and Library of Congress staff immediately. The educators chosen for the program represent Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Rhode Island has been a state affiliate of NHD for over 30 years and the local program is managed by the Rhode Island Historical Society. National History Day in Rhode Island allows students in grades 6-12 to explore an aspect of history, gain research and critical-thinking skills, and creatively deliver their research findings. Annually, the RI NHD program engages 1,500 students across the state.

For more information, visit nhd.org.