National History Day Celebrates Affiliate Nominees for the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award

College Park, Maryland – May 13, 2024 – National History Day® (NHD) is proud to announce the teachers honored as the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year nominees. Each NHD affiliate may nominate one middle school teacher and one high school teacher per year for this prestigious award. In addition to celebrating outstanding history scholarship and innovative classroom instruction, the award comes with a $10,000 cash prize.

The 102 teachers selected as the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year nominees represent 50 of NHD’s 58 affiliates. NHD affiliates include all 50 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and international schools in Europe and Asia. Each nominee is a teacher who demonstrates a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through the innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the National History Day Contest. All nominees receive $500.

“The Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award nominees always represent the best in history education,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “As NHD celebrates our 50th anniversary year, I couldn’t be more proud of these teachers. Every day, they demonstrate their commitment to excellence in teaching, the rigorous study of history and primary sources, and the creativity and drive to engage students all across the country and world in National History Day.”

One national winner in the middle school (junior) division and one national winner in the high school (senior) division will be selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians and announced on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the National History Day National Contest Awards Ceremony in College Park, Maryland. The Awards Ceremony will begin around 8 am and will be livestreamed at nhd.org/awards-ceremony.

This program is generously sponsored by the late Patricia Behring, a philanthropist and champion for education.

We are pleased to introduce the 2024 nominees for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award:

NHD Affiliate	Teacher Name, School, and City	Division
Alabama	Ms. Kathy Paschal, Stanhope Elmore High School, Millbrook	Senior
Alaska	Ms. Dena Royal, Yakov E Netsvetov, Atka	Junior
Alaska	Mrs. Heather Damario, West Valley High School, Fairbanks	Senior
American Samoa	Ms. Vi Harrington, Tafuna Elementary School, Pago Pago	Junior
American Samoa	Ms. Rhonda Tuia, Samoana High School, Utulei	Senior
Arizona	Mrs. Stacey Trepanier, New Vistas Center for Education, Chandler	Junior
Arizona	Ms. MacKenzie Uliasz, Accelerated Elementary and Secondary Schools: Greenfields, Tucson	Senior
Arkansas	Mrs. Tracie Ashley, Prairie Grove Junior High School, Prairie Grove	Junior
Arkansas	Ms. Mary Gibson, Harrison High School, Harrison	Senior
California	Mr. Chuck Diep, Roger W. Temple Intermediate School, Rosemead	Junior
California	Ms. Aditi Doshi, Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys	Senior
Colorado	Mr. Zach Crandall, Southern Hills Middle School, Boulder	Junior
Colorado	Mrs. Kirsten Schuman, SkyView Academy, Highlands Ranch	Senior
Connecticut	Mrs. Jenn McMunn, Mansfield Middle School, Storrs Mansfield	Junior
Connecticut	Mr. Matthew Hay, Pathways Academy of Technology and Design, East Hartford	Senior
Delaware	Mr. Andrew Bedell, Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Wilmington	Junior
Delaware	Mr. Brent Freccia, Newark Charter High School, Newark	Senior
Florida	Mr. Timothy Flynn, Okaloosa STEMM Academy, Valparaiso	Junior
Florida	Mrs. Paige Bagby, Creekside High School, St Johns	Senior
Georgia	Ms. Yvette Milligan, Woodland Middle School, Stockbridge	Junior
Georgia	Ms. Angelina K. Muskin, Herschel V. Jenkins High School, Savannah	Senior
Guam	Mr. Brian Palaganas, Andersen Middle School, Yigo	Junior
Hawaii	Dr. Patricia Wurst, Sacred Hearts School, Lahaina	Junior
Hawaii	Mr. Sean Wagner, Waiakea High School, Hilo	Senior
Idaho	Mrs. Sabrina Geiser, Madison Junior High School, Rexburg	Junior
Idaho	Mr. James Langan, Caldwell Senior High School, Caldwell	Senior
Illinois	Mrs. Patricia Romano Meegan, Philip Rogers Elementary School, Chicago	Junior
Illinois	Mrs. Jamie Nash-Mayberry, Cobden High School, Cobden	Senior
Indiana	Mr. Dylan Ringler, Edgewood Middle School, Warsaw	Junior
Indiana	Mrs. Lynn Norris, Sullivan High School, Sullivan	Senior
Iowa	Mrs. Linda Vanden Bosch, Clarinda Jr.-Sr. High School, Clarinda	Senior
Kansas	Mrs. Maria Arnold, Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School, Topeka	Junior
Kansas	Mr. Chris Jaax, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, Wichita	Senior
Kentucky	Mr. David Trueblood, St. Nicholas Academy, Louisville	Junior
Kentucky	Mrs. Shannon Slate, Christian County Public Schools, Hopkinsville	Senior
Louisiana	Mrs. April Butler-Goudeau, North Central High School/Middle School, Lebeau	Junior
Louisiana	Mrs. Kim Gardner, Saint Paul’s School, Mandeville	Senior
Maine	Mrs. Jessica Kelly, Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough	Junior
Maine	Mrs. Kathryn Cassesse, Greely Middle School, Cumberland Center	Junior
Maryland	Mrs. Erin Spahr, Urbana Middle School, Ijamsville	Junior
Maryland	Ms. Stephanie Gomer, Poolesville High School, Poolesville	Senior
Massachusetts	Mr. Norman Everett, Leicester Middle School, Leicester	Junior
Massachusetts	Mrs. Julia Atwood, Mansfield High School, Mansfield	Senior
Michigan	Mrs. Michelle Slaviero, Boulan Park Middle School, Troy	Junior
Michigan	Ms. Amy Bielat, Hamtramck High School, Hamtramck	Senior
Minnesota	Ms. Stacey Lambrecht, St. Mary’s School, Bird Island	Junior
Minnesota	Ms. Catherine Nachbar, Duluth East High School, Duluth	Senior
Mississippi	Mrs. Abigail Myers, Simpson Central School, Pinola	Junior
Mississippi	Ms. Alexandria Drake, JPS-Tougaloo Early College High School, Tougaloo	Senior
Missouri	Mrs. Kathy Laffoon, Liberty Middle School, Liberty	Junior
Missouri	Mr. Paul Arnold, Richland R-1, Essex	Senior
Montana	Mrs. Jessica Van Kerkhove, Potomac School District, Potomac	Junior
Montana	Ms. Victoria Nytes, Superior High School, Superior	Senior
Nebraska	Mr. Brent Myers, Mission Middle School, Bellevue	Junior
Nebraska	Mr. Shane Adams, Ralston High School, Ralston	Senior
Nevada	Ms. Margarita Morales, Victoria Fertitta Middle School, Las Vegas	Junior
Nevada	Mr. Christopher Rawlins, West Career and Technical Academy, Las Vegas	Senior
New Hampshire	Ms. Kristin Brown, Kingswood Regional Middle School, Wolfeboro	Junior
New Hampshire	Dr. Tristan K. Husby, Pelham High School, Pelham	Senior
New Mexico	Mrs. Dayna Jones, La Plata Middle School, Silver City	Junior
New York	Mrs. Jodi Thompson, Herricks Middle School, Albertson	Junior
New York	Ms. Jeanne-Marie Marziliano, Bay Shore High School, Bay Shore	Senior
NHD China	Mr. Nathaniel Potson, QSI International School of Shenzhen	Senior
NHD China	Mr. William Zander, SMIC Private School – Shanghai	Junior
NHD International	Ms. Christy Halcom, MEF International Schools, Istanbul	Senior
NHD International	Mr. Matthew Elms, Singapore American School, Singapore	Junior
NHD Korea	Mr. Nicholas Kaschub, Daegu International School, Dong-gu	Junior
NHD Korea	Ms. Savannah Bamburg, Korea International School, Jeju, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si	Senior
North Carolina	Mr. Chadwick Stokes, E. B. Frink Middle School, La Grange	Junior
North Carolina	Ms. Naomi Barlaz, Cary Academy, Cary	Senior
North Dakota	Mr. Zach Hochhalter, Fargo North High School, Fargo	Senior
Ohio	Mrs. Angela DeWitt Mrs. Leia Innes, Sailorway Middle School, Vermilion	Junior
Ohio	Mrs. Marina Dieringer, Canal Winchester High School, Canal Winchester	Senior
Oklahoma	Mrs. Corene Jackson, Grove School, Shawnee	Junior
Oklahoma	Mrs. Ellen Carroll, Summit Christian Hybrid School, Oklahoma City	Senior
Oregon	Mr. Patrick O’Brien, Seven Peaks School, Bend	Junior
Oregon	Mr. John Santella, Westview High School, Portland	Senior
Rhode Island	Mrs. Jodi Belford, Western Hills Middle School, Cranston	Junior
Rhode Island	Ms. Rita Kerr-Vanderslice, Ponaganset High School, N. Scituate	Senior
South Carolina	Ms. Candace Johnson, Whittemore Park Middle School, Conway	Junior
Tennessee	Mrs. Whitney Joyner, Kirkwood Middle School, Clarksville	Junior
Tennessee	Ms. Rebecca Byrd, Sevier County Junior High School, Sevierville	Senior
Texas	Mr. Chad Hannoni, University Prep, Grapevine	Junior
Texas	Mrs. Megan Souchek, New Caney High School, New Caney	Senior
Utah	Mr. James Romrell, Lakeridge Junior High, Orem	Junior
Utah	Mrs. Abbie Butler, Mountain Heights Academy, West Jordan	Senior
Vermont	Mr. Keith Harrington, Poultney Elementary School, Poultney	Junior
Vermont	Mr. Drew Gordon, South Burlington High School, South Burlington	Senior
Virginia	Ms. Rachel O’Leary Mrs. Jill Shull Mrs. Nellie Williams, Haycock Elementary School, Falls Church	Junior
Virginia	Mr. Andrew Abeyounis, Grafton High School, Yorktown	Senior
Washington	Mrs. Emily Ovenell, Royal Middle School, Royal City	Junior
Washington	Mr. Stephen Hart, Castle Rock High School, Castle Rock	Senior
Wisconsin	Mrs. Marci Kline Mrs. Dayce McAndrews Mrs. Beth McDonald Mrs. Karyn Tripp Ms. Hallie Weibel Mr. Nicholas Wiese, Holmen Middle School, Holmen	Junior
Wisconsin	Mr. Joe Boeck, Hmong American Peace Academy, Milwaukee	Senior

Please direct press inquires to communications@nhd.org.

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About National History Day (NHD): NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the 400 Years of African American History Commission, The Better Angels Society, the Bezos Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Behring Global Educational Foundation, and the National Park Service. For more information, visit nhd.org.