Teacher is finalist for national award

Sara Ziemnik, a teacher at Rocky River High School and the 2017 Ohio Teacher of the Year, was named one of the 10 finalists for the 2017 National History Teacher of the Year Award, according to a media release.

The Gielder Lehrman Institute of American History, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education, presents the award annually.

The Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, in Ashland, Ohio, coordinated the Ohio competition.

“Knowledgeable and impassioned teachers bring our country’s history to life for students, allowing them to understand engaging with history is about more than a series of facts,” said James G. Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. “Teachers are the lifeblood of our students’ education, and these are the best of the best.”

Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school, according to the release.

The award honors one K-12 teacher from each state, the District of Colombia, Department of Defense schools and U.S. territories.

This is the first time the committee has selected a group of finalists from the state honorees, the release said.

The National History Teacher of the Year will be selected from the pool of 10 finalists in October.

Ziemnik will be presented with the state award at the Rocky River City School District Board of Education meeting at 5 p.m., Oct. 11, at the Board of Education building, 1101 Morewood Parkway in Rock River.

“For many of my pupils, this is the last time they will study American History,” Ziemnik said. “I wake up daily remembering this, and respecting my duty to get this right.

“I must help them understand how history affects their lives every single day, and that history is shaped by individuals who demand change.”

The winner of the National History Teacher of the Year award receives a $10,000 prize Nov. 8 presented by Pulitzer Prizewinning historian Eric Foner at a ceremony in New York City.

Past presenters at the ceremony include Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, former First Lady Laura Bush, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Nominations for the 2018 History Teacher of the Year awards are now open.

Students, parents, colleagues and supervisors may nominate K-12 teachers for the award by visiting gilderlehrman.org/ nhtoy. The deadline for the 2018 nominations is March 30, 2018.

Ziemnik