"This institute was, by far, the best I have ever attended in all my years of teaching.” — Boston Public School teacher
The Education Department of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum provides professional development opportunities for elementary and secondary school educators.
These offerings range from day-long conferences to two-week institutes and take place throughout the year. Programs combine opportunities to interact with leaders in the fields of history, public affairs and politics with creative teaching tools and primary source materials.
Reading, Writing, and History (pdf)
A Conference for Teachers of Grades 3 to 8 and School Librarians
Monday, March 17, 2008
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Join outstanding authors and educators to discuss how history can engage young readers and provoke them to reach for their pens. Guest authors include Marc Aronson, Katherine Paterson, Peter Sis, and Carole Boston Weatherford. Presented by the JFK National Historic Site and the Kennedy Presidential Library.
Our Government in Action: Historical Cases from the Kennedy Years (doc)
June 25-27 and June 30- July 1
8:30 am - 2:30 pm
Join us for this five-day professional development program for middle and high school teachers of civics, U.S. history and government. This institute at the Kennedy Presidential Library is presented in partnership with Boston Public Schools through a U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History grant. Click on the link above to download our flyer.
Law and Disorder in Times of War: Security, Surveillance and Civil Liberties (pdf)
July 7 - 18, 2008
8:30 am -12:30 pm
Our 2008 American Studies Summer Institute, presented by the Kennedy Presidential Library and UMass Boston, offers a critical examination of the legal dilemmas and tensions accompanying the United States' involvement in war and major foreign conflicts. Issues related to war powers, the conduct of war, interrogation, the treatment of enemy combatants, surveillance, secrecy, and civil liberties will be addressed within a broader historical, political, cultural, and societal context. Participants may earn three graduate credits or PDPs. Click on the link above to download our flyer with registration form.
Kennedy Library Forums
Our free public forums are often tied to history and civics curricula.