Pioneers in School-College Partnerships, 1960–75

Much has been written on the early and the recent history of what happened between historians and the schools—the Committee of Ten and the dispute over the 1994 National History Standards.  But little has been published on the many projects attempted for school-college partnerships for history education active between 1960 and 1975.  Whereas historians had been involved chiefly with projects to reshape curriculum nationally, in this period local projects sprang up where teachers and professors worked together locally to raise the intellectual level of history teaching in the classroom. I have interviewed participants and consulted the papers of Edwin Fenton, the AHA, and Paul Ward, AHA Executive Secretary 1965-74.

The first project arose in in 1959: an effort led by the Superintendent of the school district and Professor Edwin Fenton of to develop Advanced Placement history courses in city’s high schools.  The second project began at the same time in,: led by Richard Brown, historians from the four colleges worked with teachers to develop lesson plans based on primary sources. Published curricula emerged from both projects that influenced teaching throughout the country. 

Then in 1965-67 Congress passed Great Society legislation which extended funding for NDEA institutes and year-long programs to history. Not only did many colleges offer programs for teachers, but also historians were deeply involved in a national program backed by the American Council of Learned Societies to improve how teachers were prepared in pedagogical and intellectual terms.  In 1969 Eugene Asher of Long Beach State College received $338,000 from the Office of Education to assist a dozen local school-college partnerships within the History Education Project.  The most successful sites, in Stony Brook,,,, and, brought teachers, college historians, and social educators together in important new ways.