In July of this year, 21 DC educators who teach grades 3–12 participated in Teach the District, the DC History Center’s signature professional development program that connects educators of all subjects to local history and culture. Educators are competitively selected, participate for a full week during their summer break, and are paid for their participation and resource-sharing.
The 2026 Teach the District cohort! Photo by Phillip Warfield.
This year’s cohort represented:
They teach:
Educators spent five days learning alongside cultural heritage professionals and their cohort of 3rd–12th grade educators across disciplines and grade levels.
And because you can’t do all that on an empty stomach: 5 CATERED LUNCHES—enjoyed without working meetings or chaperoning duties!
Educators worked with DC History Center collection materials about local history, neighborhoods, the fight for statehood, land loss and displacement, changemakers in DC, and more.
Each educator requested at least three historical artifacts from the DC History Center collections. With very little lead time, Library staff Alex Aspiazu and Sam Lewis pulled all the collection requests (and then some!) so educators could get busy incorporating collection items into their classroom resources by Thursday morning.
Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park — We experienced their new WE THE PEOPLE? field trip and hiked their grounds.
People’s Archive at MLK, Jr. Memorial Library — The cohort toured the collections space, perused the fourth-floor exhibits, and explored topic-specific items from the People’s Archive to use in developing their classroom resources. They also got to experience the District Vibes/American Pride: How DC Changed American Culture special exhibit, on view from June 3 through September 27, 2026.
Our host site offered behind-the-scenes access, hands-on collections research, brainstorming sessions, and group reflection time.
We were also elated to welcome the Library of Congress Professional Learning Outreach Initiatives team to our site to lead a two-hour workshop on Teaching with Primary Sources!
Previously run with additional partners, the DC History Center has planned and executed the program independently for a few years now. This summer, our education team delivered another successful Teach the District!