Urban Milwaukee: Margaret Holtgreive, a teacher at Milwaukee Public Schools‘ Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School, is the Wisconsin high school winner of National History Day’s Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award.
The award recognizes teachers for “outstanding creativity, commitment and inspiration in developing student interest in history education.”
Now Holtgreive is in the running for the National Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award.
The national award is given to one grade 6-8 teacher and one grade 9-12 teacher who has shown according to the National History Day organization.
The state honor comes with a $500 prize and national winners earn $10,000 to recognize “their outstanding efforts to encourage and support history education.”
Teachers can be nominated for the awards by their administrators, peers — or they can apply themselves. To qualify, teachers must participate in the National History Day Contest and demonstrate excellence in the classroom. Winners are chosen by a team of teachers, administrators and historians. “Their work must clearly illustrate the development and use of creative teaching methods that interest students in history and help them make exciting discoveries about the past,” the organization notes.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized by an organization that’s providing such a strong, project-based educational opportunity for students,” Holtgreive said. “National History Day brings history to life for our students.”