1. science
2. social science
3. history

“Where Do I Come In?”
Connecting Students to Archives
Through Family and Community History
Presenter:
Andrea (Ang) Reidell
Education Specialist
National Archives Philadelphia
Andrea.reidell@nara.gov
Andrea (Ang) Reidell
Education Specialist
National Archives at Philadelphia
Andrea.reidell@nara.gov
National Archives at Philadelphia
Student Family History Initiative
Multifaceted
Goals:
• Reach out to
students of all
ages, particularly
youth of color
Spark a
connection
to
&
a deeper
interest in
history
• Encourage lifelong critical thinking
and research skills
• Teach
students how
to discover
their family
stories
• Connect students
with National
Archives resources
• Help students
recognize
how their
family story
fits into larger
historical
narratives.
Facilitate students’ understanding that they are an important
part of the history - and future - of their communities
Student Family History Initiative –
The Beginning
Pilot project:
Family History Summer
Institute for Students
• Three years: 2010 - 2012
Partnerships – key:
• National Archives at
Philadelphia
• Genealogical Society of
Pennsylvania
• Constitution High School
(2010)
The Details
• Small group of high school
students each summer.
• 6-8 hours/week of guided family
history research with Project
Coordinators and mentors.
• Visited area archives and libraries
to meet staff, learn about the
holdings, and conduct research.
• Making it work for Philadelphia’s
students: transportation subsidy
and (some years) a small stipend.
Putting It All Together
Final project:
•
Websites or Prezis describing process
and results.
•
Presented at a public program at the
National Archives at Philadelphia.
•
Program Attendees:
– students’ families
• First time ever in a National
Archives facility
– educators
– cultural community members
– genealogists
– general public
Student participation
•
“My mother considers herself
just black and I say I am mixed, so
she told me to talk to my
grandparents. When I spoke to
them they said that my great 3x
grandfather was the son of a
slave master…so it struck my
mind [that this project] is exactly
what I was looking for to help me
in this.”
- Family History Summer Institute Applicant
Frustrations and Successes
"Finding census, marriage
records, death index, and
public records was very time
consuming and frustrating
at the same time, but when
you found a primary
document it was a
wonderful feeling of
accomplishment."
– Maria, 2010 participant, 2011
Peer Mentor
Research Accomplishments
•
“The first name I looked up...was
my [great] x4 grandfather. It
took me a while but I found him
in [Virginia] 1880 census
records.... I ran to the file
cabinet where the National
Archives held the census
microfilms. I would say that
looking though the microfilm
manually was the best part. It
made me feel I could touch what
they touched.”
–Kendall, 2010 participant
Student Family History Initiative Next steps
•
Began to expand programming into
the school year, on a smaller-scale
• Workshops for students from 6th12th grade, adapted for age level.
•
Working with teachers on how to use
family history in the classroom
•
Development of a Family History
Packet
•
Now working with ESOL teachers at
Philadelphia Writing Program at
UPenn (from Esperanza project)
•
Large-scale partnership opportunity:
Esperanza Academy Charter School
Esperanza Academy Charter School
• North Philadelphia
– 301 W Hunting Park Ave
• Demographics:
– 92% Hispanic
– 8% African-American
• Enhancing social studies
curriculum
– Latino/African American
studies class
“La Historia de Mi Familia”
• Working closely with the teachers,
developed a rigorous family and
neighborhood history project.
• Two successful years and already
planning the third.
• Almost 400 9th graders to date.
• In-class visits for workshops on
primary document analysis,
source perspective and
working with the census.
• School subscribed to ancestry.com
• Field trips to cultural institutions
 reinforce/enhance classroom
learning
 directed research and more
primary source analysis
Workshop - U.S. Census
• School visit from National
Archives staff members
• Overview of importance
of census to family and
community life
• Document analysis:
compare and contrast
1930 and 1940 census
The Final Product
1st year: 30 students chosen to develop
their work into an exhibit at the National
Archives.
3-dimensional mobiles on tree branches
Mobiles included laminated copies:
• documents
• oral history interview transcripts
• photos
• Students worked in English
• All translations done by a
former National Archives
graduate fellow in Education
• La Historia de Mi Familia – the
National Archives first bilingual exhibit.
2nd year:
– Exhibit host: National Museum of
American Jewish History
Student Projects:
• 30 Exhibits
• 10 web sites
Up for three months
Opening Night of the Exhibit
• Students, families and community
members invited.
• School provided bus transportation
to the exhibit site.
• Proud family members attended.
• As with summer institute, many attendees
had not heard of National Archives
•Students present an overview of the project and what he/she learned
– about history and themselves.
Comments from parents and students
Rough Spanish translation: Very
cool to learn about our roots!
And visitors to the exhibit
Comment in Spanish, English
and Hebrew:
“We are all family.”
The students’ work stimulates
interest in family history for visitors:
“I loved this exhibition!...It made me
want to explore my own ancestry.”
Points to Consider
• This project is scalable and
adaptable
– What will work best in your
institutional context?
• Listen and learn FIRST– then
adapt what you can offer to
meet the school’s needs.
• Be flexible!!
• Start small and build on
success.
Summing Things Up
• Family history projects are a great
way to connect with students.
• Pathways to success for ALL students.
• Also works well to connect with
students’ families.
• Great community outreach.
• Not easy, but absolutely worth it.
A Few Final Thoughts
Video Clips:
Danny Cortes,
Executive Vice-President and
Chief of Staff, Esperanza
Kennyshia Paulino,
Student Participant
David Rossi
Senior Vice President and CEO
of Esperanza Charter Schools