Historic Cherry Hill is pleased to announce Multivocal Learning: Albany’s History for Albany’s Students, a school program collaboration with Albany County Historical Association’s Ten Broeck Mansion and the Underground Railroad Education Center at the Myers Residence and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). 

Based upon feedback from local schoolteachers, this partnership will result in thematically linked programs which build a stronger understanding of historical issues and the diversity of voices and opinions that have made and are making history in the United States. With concrete connections to the New York State curricula, the new programs will allow upper elementary and middle school classrooms to travel to multiple Albany sites in the same day, saving school resources and creating rich, hands-on educational experiences.

This project will also include the digitization of primary source materials, in partnership with Siena College’s Digital Scholarship Lab. Dozens of collection items from each institution will become accessible to schools, researchers and the public on New York Heritage’s website. With grant funding, Historic Cherry Hill has digitized two other collections on New York Heritage-- Historical African American Experiences at Cherry Hill in 2020, with supporting online teaching units for grades 4 through 12, and Cherry Hill Receipt Books in 2021. https://nyheritage.org/organizations/historic-cherry-hill

Newly digitized collection items from all three institutions will support resources for teachers to use in the classroom, before and after their onsite visits. Together, these digital materials and on-site, in-person programs—available to classrooms by early 2023-- will build students’ subject-matter competencies, radical empathy, and sense of their own agency in education and civic life. These values are critical to our mission, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with these wonderful institutions and talented individuals!

For more information email shawna@historiccherryhill.org.

 

About Historic Cherry Hill

Historic Cherry Hill invites visitors and researchers to explore American history through the unique lens of one Albany household and, through intimate encounter with the past, encourages audiences toward new perspectives on their own stories and place in history. Visit www.historiccherryhill.org

About the Albany County Historical Association at Ten Broeck Mansion

The Albany County Historical Association, headquartered at the historic Ten Broeck Mansion built in 1798, strives to preserve, present, promote and interpret the stories of the rich and diverse history and culture of Albany County through exhibits, lectures, concerts, and other educational outreach programs. Visit https://tenbroeckmansion.org/

About the Underground Railroad Education Center at the Myers Residence

Underground Railroad Education Center researches and preserves the local and national history of the Underground Railroad movement, its international connections, and its legacy for today’s social justice issues, thereby empowering people of all ages to be agents of change toward an equitable and just society. https://undergroundrailroadhistory.org/

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov