Portland, OR —  Amy McBride, a social sciences teacher at ACCESS Academy for Portland Public Schools, has been nominated by the Oregon Historical Society for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award for her work with students on the Oregon History Day program, an affiliate of the National History Day® contest.

Established in 1974, National History Day® engages more than a half-million students and 30,000 teachers annually. Students conduct original research on historical topics of interest and present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Students may compete first at the local level, and top entries are invited to compete at the national contest. 

ACCESS Academy serves a population of highly accelerated learners in grades 1–8, many of whom are twice exceptional (2E) students. ACCESS students are often outliers in their neighborhood schools, where their unique needs and talents are often undiscovered and the learning approach and discipline plans do not match their needs. McBride decided to get her students involved with Oregon History Day in 2018 due to its flexible, project-based learning that immerses students in active historical research. Oregon History Day readily matches the level, rate, and different social challenges and strengths of students, and allows students to work individually or in small groups studying historical topics of personal interest

McBride trained two additional teachers at her school to participate in the program, and serves as an Oregon History Day mentor for Oregon teachers. She also organizes a History Day open house for students’ families, where participating students present their projects to visitors.

Each of the 58 National History Day® affiliates may nominate one middle school teacher for the Patricia Behring Award annually. As the National History Day® affiliate organizer for Oregon, the Oregon Historical Society is proud to nominate McBride as its 2021 nominee. Nominees for the $10,000 award demonstrate a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through the innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the National History Day® contests. Each nominee receives $500 as a result of their nomination. The national winner will be announced in June 2021.

“Teachers are among the greatest resources children have to develop the skills necessary to become critical thinkers,” said National History Day® Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “The nominees for the Behring Award have shown a dedication to teaching that goes beyond the classroom.”

For more information on National History Day®, visit nhd.org. For details on how to get involved with Oregon History Day, visit ohs.org/oregonhistoryday.

About the Oregon Historical Society

For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms & website (www.ohs.org), educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all. We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.