Alex Levy

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Articles

Updates to the AHA's Criteria for Standards in History/Social Studies/Social Sciences

Dec 23, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The AHA Council approved updated criteria for state academic standards that are used to direct history and social studies instruction in public schools between kindergarten and twelfth grade (K–12). “State standards serve a critical role in education policy. Depending on the quality of their content and efficacy of their application, they can either encourage or impede learning.” These criteria provide specific guidance to ensure “that every student has the right to a history-rich education.”
Making a Difference in State-Level History Education

Dec 5, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The AHA continues to monitor state-level activity relating to history education. We don’t just lament the state of affairs; we are out there on the ground trying to make a difference. On November 18, AHA senior program analyst for teaching and learning Julia Brookins testified before the Texas State Board of Education about proposed new reading and language arts instructional materials. This curriculum includes a significant amount of history, and Dr. Brookins labeled it “a great disappointment. . . .
Advocacy on Behalf of the Historical Discipline

Dec 5, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The AHA is monitoring conversations in the media regarding the incoming administration’s appointments to positions directly related to the work of the AHA and historians in general. As I have indicated elsewhere, the AHA maintains a tight advocacy focus: we speak out when issues relate directly to our mission, the practice (and abuse) of history, and the work of historians.
AHA at the National Council of the Social Studies

Nov 18, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

Executive director James Grossman and director of teaching & learning Brendan Gillis have a busy schedule at the 2024 National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Boston. On Thursday, November 21, Grossman will deliver a lunchtime keynote about the AHA’s American Lesson Plan report to the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium, and Gillis will help convene a half-day clinic on Advocacy, Alignment, and Building Public Support for the Social Studies Curriculum.
The National Archives Requests Feedback on Archives.gov

Nov 15, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The National Archives is preparing to redesign the Archives.gov website, and wants to learn about the experiences that AHA members have had with the website. Focus groups and usability testing interviews will be scheduled in the months ahead, and volunteers are sought for participation. All feedback is welcomed, including details on any challenges that users may encounter while exploring Archives.gov, as well as suggestions for improvements.
Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board Release Records on the Killing of Hattie DeBardelaben

Nov 4, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board has announced the release of FBI and Department of Justice records regarding Hattie DeBardelaben, an African American woman beaten to death by law enforcement authorities in Autauga County, Alabama, in 1945. The records are available on the National Archives website. Margaret Burnham, co-chair of the Review Board, stated, “But as was too often the case involving the death of a Black person at the hands of white men, no one was ever indicted.
American Lesson Plan Report on History in K–12 Classrooms Featured in News Coverage - AHA

Oct 17, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The AHA’s American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools, the most comprehensive study of secondary US history education undertaken in the 21st century, has been featured in general, local, and education-focused news coverage, including the following: Dana Goldstein, “History Teachers Are Replacing Textbooks with the Internet” (New York Times, September 2024). LZ Granderson, “Column: Finally, A Reckoning on How We Teach American History” (Los Angeles Times, September 2024).
AHA Research Coordinator Interviewed on All Things Considered

Oct 2, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

Nicholas Kryczka, AHA research coordinator, was interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered about the American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools report and the AHA’s Congressional Briefing on the report’s findings. “Teachers generally have a very strong professional bedrock about their need to keep ideological bents out of what they’re teaching,” Kryczka said. “Their radar with regard to materials that may have an ideological position is pretty sharp.
Explore the New AHA Website

Sep 28, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

The AHA has launched a new website. Led by Alexandra Levy and Liz Townsend, our staff incorporated suggestions from members who helped us to improve the user experience and make the AHA’s cornucopia of resources easier to locate and explore. Developing the site has provided us an opportunity to consider how our members and the public engage with the AHA and the history discipline more broadly.
AHA Member Named to the Lancet’s Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health

Sep 26, 2024 | historians.org | Alex Levy

AHA member Jennifer Tucker (Wesleyan Univ.) has accepted an invitation to serve as a commissioner on the first-ever Lancet Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health. “Gun violence is a global health emergency. Around the world, it contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of injuries, and billions of dollars in economic costs. Yet, the scale of gun violence—from the individual to the international level—is still poorly understood,” Tucker said.