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News Release

For Immediate Release October 18, 2011
Contact: Charles Pyle, Director of Communications (804) 371-2420
Julie C. Grimes, Communications Manager, (804) 225-2775

 

Stacy Hoeflich, a Virginia Studies teacher at John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, today was named the 2011 National History Teacher of the Year. She was honored at a ceremony attended by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, NY.

In June, Hoeflich was named 2011 Virginia History Teacher of the Year. Last month, she was notified of being selected as one of five finalists for the national honor and invited to New York for the announcement.

As 2011 National History Teacher of the Year, Hoeflich will receive a $10,000 award. The award is sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a nonprofit organization that promotes the study and love of American history by focusing on document-based history education, as well as seminars and development programs for K-12 teachers; Preserve America, a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy cultural and natural heritage; and HISTORY (the History Channel).

The National History Teacher of the Year award annually recognizes an exemplary history teacher who demonstrates a commitment to teaching American history and goes beyond state standards while utilizing primary documents, artifacts, historic sites and other primary materials, including oral history.

"This is indeed an honor for Stacy Hoeflich and for Virginia," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright. "Her students dive into Virginia history and geography through experiential learning and hands-on classroom activities. Her creative approach to history instruction engages students throughout the year and instills in them an appreciation of how the present is connected to the past."

A fourth-grade teacher for 13 years, Hoeflich is known for helping design lessons to benefit the culturally and ethnically diverse student population – representing families from more than 50 countries – at her school.

Through a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, Hoeflich studied in Austria and later incorporated what she learned in the classroom. She, along with the school’s vocal teacher and students wrote, produced and performed three original and historically accurate operas on George Mason, Thomas Jefferson and Virginia’s Indians. In addition, Hoeflich participated in the Library of Congress’ Adventure of the American Mind and the Teaching American History grant that led to her involvement in online U.S. history web modules for George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media. Previous honors for Hoeflich include Mount Vernon Teacher of the Year and the Technology Integration Educator award.

As the commonwealth’s nominee, Hoeflich was chosen as the 2011 National History Teacher of the Year from a pool of winners from each of the 50 state, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and Department of Defense Schools. As 2011 Virginia History Teacher of the Year, she received a certificate of recognition, a $1,000 honorarium and the opportunity to participate in a Gilder Lehrman Institute summer seminar. In addition, the school library where she teaches received a collection of history books and reference materials in Hoeflich’s honor.

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