Jami Allen Named 2020 Kentucky History Teacher of the Year

FRANKFORT, KY (JULY, 2020): Jami McCoy Allen, a teacher at Eastern High School in Louisville, has been named the 2020 Kentucky History Teacher of the Year, an award presented annually by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education. Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school. The award honors one K-12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and US Territories. In fall 2020, the National History Teacher of the Year will be selected from the pool of state winners.

Jami McCoy Allen has been in the classroom for over a decade and holds two master’s degrees from the University of Louisville, one in teaching secondary education and the other in early American history. She has won several teaching awards and been involved with numerous grant projects and professional learning communities related to social studies both in her school and district. Allen is passionate about inquiry teaching and sees it as promoting the complexity of student thinking. She believes that by allowing students to question and pursue their “own” learning they become adept at locating and evaluating primary and secondary sources, more confident in expressing their own opinions, and show sustained interest in classroom learning. In addition to a $1,000 honorarium, Allen’s school will receive a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials and recognition at the Kentucky History awards ceremony to be held virtually by the Kentucky Historical Society. See her interview and awards acceptance below. Nominations for the 2021 History Teacher of the Year awards are now open. Students, parents, colleagues, and supervisors may nominate K-12 teachers for the award by visiting www.gilderlehrman.org/nhtoy. The deadline for 2021 nominations is April 30, 2021.   About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Now celebrating its twenty-fifth year, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. Drawing on the 70,000 documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection and an extensive network of eminent historians, the Institute provides teachers, students, and the general public with direct access to unique primary source materials. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, and the Council of Independent Colleges.