The Primary Source

History Fair Results

The SAISD Social Studies Department is proud to announce the results of the 2008 SAISD History Fair! The History Fair was held on December 11, 2008 at Trinity University. The topic for this year was the Individual in History. Students were required to examine an individual who had a great influence on a global scale either in a positive or negative fashion.

The Social Studies Department would like to thank all those involved in this year's History Fair including the Social Studies Staff, all judges, Trinity University and our volunteers! All awardees at the 1st and 2nd place levels will be participating in the regional History Fair this Spring.

Category 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention
Senior: Group Website Sally Ride: The First Woman in Space
Jefferson H.S.
Alexander the Great
Jefferson H.S.
Michael Jackson
Fox Tech H.S.
Senior: Individual Documentary Alice Paul
Jefferson H.S.
Oskar Schindler
Jefferson H.S.
Alexander the Great
Burbank H.S.
Adolph Hitler: The Legacy
Burbank H.S.
Senior: Individual Exhibit Elizabeth Blackwell
Jefferson H.S.
Norman Borlang
Burbank H.S.
Upton Sinclair
Jefferson H.S.
Joan of Arc
Brackenridge H.S.
Senior: Group Performance Bill Gates
Jefferson H.S.
Rockabilly: Elvis Presley
Brackenridge H.S.
Rosie the Riveter
Fox Tech H.S.
Senior: Individual Performance Joan of Arc
Burbank H.S.
Amelia Earhart
Burbank H.S.
Dorthea Dix
Jefferson H.S.
Harriet Tubman
Jefferson H.S.
Senior: Group Exhibits Dan Elden
Jefferson H.S.
Margaret Sanger
Jefferson H.S.
Dragon Lady
Jefferson H.S.
Bob Marley
Burbank H.S.
Senior: Individual Papers Muhammad: Affecting the World Today
Brackenridge H.S.
Susan B. Anthony
Lanier H.S.
Creating a Culture: Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll
Jefferson H.S.
Senior: Group Documentary MacArthur: Legacy & Actions in the Korean War
Burbank H.S.
Coco Chanel
Fox Tech H.S.
Steven Jobs: The Innovator
Burbank H.S.
Jonas Salk: The Man Who Saved Our Children
Burbank H.S.
Junior: Individual Performance John Ross
Tafolla M.S.
Alexander Graham Bell
Lowell M.S.
I Have a Dream
Davis M.S.
Junior: Individual Papers Jane Austin
Davis M.S.
Dorothea Dix
Tafolla M.S.
Robert E. Lee
Page M.S.
Junior: Individual Exhibits Henry Ford
Lowell M.S.
Hernan Cortez
Rhodes M.S.
Martin Luther King
Tafolla M.S.
James K. Polk
Tafolla M.S.
Junior: Individual Documentary Franklin D. Roosevelt
ML King Academy
Amelia Earhart
Davis M.S.
The Web
Lowell M.S.
Junior: Group Performance Montezuma
Rhodes M.S.
Milton Hershey
Harris Academy
Julius Caesar
Rhodes M.S.
Junior: Group Exhibits Milton Hersey
Whittier M.S.
Teddy
Whittier M.S.
Gandhi
Young Women’s Leadership Academy
Helen Keller
Rogers M.S.
Junior: Group Documentary Raoul Wallenberg
Whittier M.S.
Harriet Tubman
Rhodes M.S.
Martin Cooper
Rhodes M.S.
Dan Moody
Twain M.S.

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2008 Mock Election Held!



On October 30, 2008, almost 14,000 students from around the district participated in the 2008 National Mock Election. Schools held elections to determine which of the candidates will become the next President of the United States. The results are as follows:

Candidate Votes % of Total Votes
Baldwin 16 0%
Barr 213 1%
McCain 2655 17%
McKinney 43 0%
Obama 12562 82%
Nader 50 0%
Write-Ins/Other 38 0%



The Social Studies Department would like to thank everyone who either participated and/or facilitated this project!

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Teaching American History Grantees Selected!


The San Antonio ISD Social Studies Department is excited to announce the selection of 35 teachers from around the district to participate in the Teaching American History IV grant! Please join us in congratulating the following teachers:


  • Karen Aguiar - Fox Tech HS
  • Elizabeth Alvarado - Harris Academy
  • Sandra Alvarado - Highlands HS
  • Inez Alvarez - Connell MS
  • Diana Bailey-Ken - Page MS
  • Connie Baker - Jefferson HS
  • Ben Crumley - Rogers MS
  • Carlos DeLeon - Burbank HS
  • Carol DeLeon - Houston HS
  • Jeannie Derby - Lanier HS
  • Dustin Domingue - Jefferson HS
  • Sonia Escobedo - Davis MS
  • Gilbert FLores - Poe MS
  • Patrick Gonzales - Burbank HS
  • Ken Grasch - Highlands HS
  • Erin Gutierrez-Harbor - Lanier HS
  • Ernest Herrera - Tafolla MS
  • Michelle LaFontain - Edison HS
  • Edelia Lira - Lanier HS
  • Yvette Lopez - Bonham Academy
  • Robert Martinez - Fox Tech HS
  • Michael Mayfield - Rhodes MS
  • Lukas Mendoza - Bonham Academy
  • Chris Mills-Winkler - Fox Tech HS
  • Yolanda Moran - Edison HS
  • Joe Ostrowski - Brackenridge HS
  • Lillian Ozuna - Navarro Academy
  • Erica Parra - Edison HS
  • Kim Rentie - Irving Academy
  • Mary Roam - Brackenridge HS
  • Nelly Rosales-Nino - Highlands HS
  • Kathryn Snider - Tafolla MS
  • Ray Ruiz - Longfellow MS
  • Selena Tamez - Longfellow MS
  • Nancy Williams - Connell MS


The Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History grant provides for a comprehensive three year professional development program to prepare teachers in the SAISD to teach traditional American history and to increase teachers’ content knowledge of the subject. In order to positively impact the academic achievement of SAISD students in regular, Pre-AP U.S. History, and Advanced Placement United States History, teachers will study the people, ideas, events, and turning points that contributed to the development of the American experience. It will increase teachers’ knowledge of how to teach writing at a higher level using document based questions in United States History as per the College Board requirements.


Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will examine traditional American history content through the following independent topics selected by teachers to support significant episodes and turning points:

  • Year 1 The Birth of a Nation: Colonization and Revolution (18th Century)
  • Year 2 The Growth of a Nation: Expansion and Civil War (19th Century)
  • Year 3 The Transformation of a Nation: To a World Power and World at War (20th Century)
  • Year 4 The Challenges of a Nation: The Cold War
  • Year 5 The History of our Nation: The Teacher as Scholar/Historian and Mentor

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Grantees Selected!

The San Antonio ISD Social Studies Department would like to congratulate the following teachers in being selected for the 2009 Muslim Histories and Cultures Project.


  • Karen Aguiar: Fox Tech High School
  • Ernest Herrera - Tafolla Middle School
  • Joseph Ostrowski - Brackenridge High School
  • Thomas Sickmann - Rhodes Middle School
  • Ronald Wiltse - Edison High School

The Muslim Histories and Cultures Project was born out of discussions between His Highness The Aga Khan and Texas Governor Rick Perry during the Summer 2002, when The Aga Khan was in Houston for the dedication of a new Ismaili Center. Both His Highness and Governor Perry agreed on the need for Texans to have a greater understanding of Islamic culture, and subsequently brought UT-Austin President Larry Faulkner into the discussions. Located in the state capital, Faulkner’s campus is well positioned to accomplish these goals. A series of meetings followed, with the project ultimately finding a home in UT-Austin’s College of Liberal Arts, under the guidance of Dean Richard W. Lariviere, in association with UT Liberal Arts (UT-LA), the college’s teacher preparation program.

In April 2004, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and UT-Austin finalized a grant proposal that created the partnership that became known as the Muslim Histories and Cultures Program (MHC).  Much has happened since the inception of the partnership.  Creation and implementation of a model was of prime importance.  MHC recruited and directly trained 80 teachers affecting approximately 15,150 students of World History and World Geography in ten key Texas districts during the two sessions conducted in 2005 and 2006. The purpose is two-fold 1) to fulfill Governor Rick Perry's desire to better educate Texas teachers on Muslim topics and 2) to train teachers to use a cultural lens approach to understanding other cultures. Governor Perry was instrumental in getting this program off the ground.

The responsibilities of the participants are:

  • to attend the 10 seminars and complete the assigned readings.
  • to attend the January, March, and June meetings in Austin.
  •  to create lessons concerning Islamic topics with a “cultural lens” approach tied to their grade level to share with other teachers.

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Social Studies Dept. Awarded Grant!

The SAISD Social Studies Department was recently awarded a Teaching American History Grant of almost one million dollars from the Department of Education!

Some major points about the new Teaching American History Grant: Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History to Increase Academic Achievement, Historical Literacy, and College Readiness in the San Antonio Independent School District:

Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History proposal provides for a comprehensive three year professional development program to prepare teachers in the SAISD to teach traditional American history and to increase teachers’ content knowledge of the subject. In order to positively impact the academic achievement of SAISD students in regular, Pre-AP U.S. History, and Advanced Placement United States History, teachers will study the people, ideas, events, and turning points that contributed to the development of the American experience. It will increase teachers’ knowledge of how to teach writing at a higher level using document based questions in United States History as per the College Board requirements.

 

Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will examine traditional American history content through the following independent topics selected by teachers to support significant episodes and turning points:

  • Year 1 The Birth of a Nation: Colonization and Revolution (18th Century)
  • Year 2 The Growth of a Nation: Expansion and Civil War (19th Century)
  • Year 3 The Transformation of a Nation: To a World Power and World at War (20th Century)
  • Year 4 The Challenges of a Nation: The Cold War
  • Year 5 The History of our Nation: The Teacher as Scholar/Historian and Mentor

This project will:

  • Improve the content knowledge of teachers of traditional American history courses in the SAISD as measured by a pre and post test on the AP US History College level test.
  • Improve academic achievement in U.S. history as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in Grades 8 and 11; increase the college readiness and commended levels of academic achievement on the TAKS test; and increase AP US History passing rates of a 3 4, or 5 as measured by the College Board standards.
  • Improve the quality of instruction by creating vertical teams to collaborate and discuss college readiness issues and skills to improve writing on AP US History exams.

The program design includes NCHE history colloquia (36 mentor teachers) using vital themes and narratives to examine the content selected for the year; 16 Saturday seminars (50 participants each) to reinforce the content themes; training in the implementation of the College Board AP and Pre-AP programs (5 sessions for 200 teachers); and integration of technology (150 teachers) in American History using the content themes. Supportive resources include: field experiences to historic sites connected to the topic; collaboration with the National Council for History Education; Trinity University; The College Board; KLRN-TV; the Alamo and Witte Museums; and Teacher’s Curriculum Institute (TCI). External evaluation of the project will be conducted by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA).

 

Most importantly, SAISD will endeavor to teach our students how to think historically and reflect on philosophical and ethical dilemmas that all leaders and citizens face along with their human frailties. In order to help SAISD students become better citizens, this proposal seeks to build capacity in history teachers by improving their content knowledge of United States history, their delivery of instruction in the classroom, their abilities to teach critical writing skills, and their integration of technology into history teaching. Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will be a cornerstone in assisting primarily at-risk Hispanic students in the San Antonio Independent School District to achieve academic excellence.


Amy Jo Baker, Ed.D.

Senior Coordinator of Social Studies &

Director of Teaching American History Grants

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SAISD Students Take Top Honors!

Contributed by:

Daniel Reyes, Secondary Social Studies Teacher Specialist

 

Advocacy is a key skill in any social studies curriculum and opportunities for students to use these skills are very rare. The Annette Strauss Institute sponsors a yearly competition in Austin called "Speak Up! Speak Out!". The competition allows for the students to define, research, and enact a solution to a problem that exists in their community. The team of students gather at The University of Texas to present their topic and awards are given to the top three presentations, based on an oral report and display of their work.

 

At this year's competition, held on May 14, 2008, there were 16 teams from South Texas, Central Texas and El Paso. For the second year in a row, San Antonio Independent School District dominated the competition by taking two of the top three places: 1st place was awarded to Highlands High School for their topic on Graffiti: from Epidemic to Pandemic; 3rd place was awarded to Sam Houston High School for their topic on Child Abuse Awareness. Special mention must be given to the two teams from Lanier High School that participated in the event with presentations on Homelessness Awareness and the Dropout Rate in their community. All team members from SAISD were outstanding examples of the dedication and levels of high expectations that their teachers, Mr. John Horner from Highlands, Mr. Rance Olison from Sam Houston, and Mr. Robert Casselberry from Lanier High School, inspire each day in their classrooms. Congratulations to the students, teachers, and High Schools that participated in this event.

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