June 28, 2000
FIFTH ANNUAL EDUCATORS’ CONFERENCE HELD AT UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fifth annual Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program will be held July 30 - August 4, 2000 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Established in 1996, the Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program strives to develop a cadre of skilled secondary school teachers to serve as Holocaust education leaders in their communities. This year’s Fellows will participate in a five-day seminar exploring Holocaust education strategies with Museum personnel and Holocaust scholars.
This seven-year program, funded by a generous gift from the Mandel Associated Foundations, enables history, social studies, English, and instructional media teachers to refine their Holocaust education skills. Each of the 25 participants, chosen from 500 applicants, has taught Holocaust history for a minimum of five years. Currently, there are 122 Mandel Fellows from 42 states. This year’s fellows were selected based on their extensive knowledge of Holocaust history, successful teaching experience and professional and community involvement.
Fellows are expected to use their experience to create outreach projects in their schools, communities or professional organizations. In May 2001, Fellows will return to the Museum to assess the progress of their outreach efforts and may apply for special funding that supports exemplary projects promoting Holocaust education. Past participants have launched a number of innovative Holocaust educational outreach programs, including Holocaust conferences and on-line and printed publications.
“The Mandel Fellowship Program enables the Holocaust Museum to provide high-quality Holocaust education programs to people around the country,” explains Mandel Program Coordinator Daniel Napolitano. “Identifying educators who can reach students of all ages in all communities is an essential element of the Museum’s mission.”
The Holocaust Museum’s Education Division offers programs for educators of all levels of Holocaust education experience. Each July, the Museum hosts the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer National Conference for Educators, which is specifically designed for secondary educators with fewer than five years’ experience in teaching the Holocaust.
The Museum’s Education Division has developed numerous resources and services to help educators and students learn about Holocaust history. The Resource Center for Educators is home to Museum-developed educational materials and serves as a national repository for lesson plans, curricula, literature, and audio-visual materials, many of which are free-of-charge. Currently, the Museum serves more than 30,000 educators annually.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national institution for the documentation, study and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. The Museum’s primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this unprecedented tragedy; to preserve the memory of those who suffered; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.
For more information regarding the Mandel Fellowship Program, or to arrange for interviews with or photography of participants, please contact the Museum’s Media Relations Department: Andy Hollinger, (202) 488-6133.
