National History Day announces professional development workshop grant for Vermont teachers
National History Day is an annual competition for middle and high school students, and we administer the Vermont History Day competition each April. Our next competition will be held on April 3rd, 2027 at St. Michael's College in Colchester.
This competition is an amazing way for students to practice the work of historians. Each year, they put together projects (through websites, documentaries, papers, presentations, and performances) that align with each year's theme. (The 2027 theme will be Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change).
VHS works closely with instructors across the state to provide resources and training to assist with this work, and NHD has announced a series of grants to attend a professional development workshop at the Vermont State University in Lyndonville on February 11th, 2027.
Educators interested in applying for this grant can do so via this form and can reach out to our Outreach Educator, Meg Mallory, for questions: outreach.educator@vermonthistory.org.
Here's the full announcement from NHD:
National History Day Announces Second Round of Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers through U.S. Department of Education Grant
COLLEGE PARK, MD – September 23, 2026 – National History Day® (NHD) is proud to announce a second year of teacher professional development opportunities, generously funded through the American History and Civics Seminars Program grant for almost $2 million from the U.S. Department of Education.
Educators in Colorado, Ohio, Utah, and Vermont will have the opportunity to bring inquiry-based learning into their classrooms through professional development workshops led by National History Day and its affiliate partners in each state from late 2026 through 2028. The teacher training programs will focus on project-based learning, historical thinking skills, and engaging with local historic resources.
In 2025, the first round of teacher-focused professional development funded by the U.S. Department of Education began in four states: Idaho, Iowa, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Educator cohorts from these states continue to engage with National History Day and its affiliate partners through day-long workshops until 2027 to strengthen connections with NHD programs in these areas. The grant also funds NHD’s webinar series, Revolutionary Ideals: Understanding 250 Years of American Principles, a year-long online professional development opportunity for educators to explore revolutionary ideals and their evolution across U.S. history.
“Through the first round of educator workshops, we saw how impactful year-long support is to implementing historical thinking skills in the classroom, and we are excited to continue this work in four more states across the country,” said National History Day Executive Director, Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Supporting educators in their own professional development directly impacts the quality of history education students receive and provides young people with strong foundational skills that lead to better students and citizens.”
NHD is excited to announce teacher professional development opportunities in the following regions throughout 2026 to 2028. To learn more and register to attend, please visit NHD’s website.
- Northeastern Colorado with the University of Colorado, Denver
- Introductory Workshop on December 5, 2026, at Valley Middle School
- Southeastern Ohio with The Ohio History Connection
- Introductory Workshop on January 25, 2027, at Newark Earthworks
- Cache Valley, Uintah Basin, Southern Utah, and Wasatch Front, Utah, with the Utah Historical Society
- Introductory Workshop on November 20, 2026, at the Museum of Utah
- Northeast Kingdom of Vermont with the Vermont Historical Society
- Introductory Workshop on February 11, 2027, at Vermont State University
About National History Day
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. Established in 1974, NHD currently engages more than half a million students each year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest and supports teachers through professional development opportunities. 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 annual National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation, The Better Angels Society, Bezos Family Foundation, Library of Congress, Dr. Scholl Foundation, Behring Global Educational Foundation, and the National Park Service. For more information, visit www.nhd.org.
