Much attention has been given in recent years to reinvigorating history education in our nation's schools - updating curriculum, exploring effective teaching strategies, and increasing training and professional development for our history teachers.  The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), publishers of The Nation's Report Card, report America's twelfth and eighth graders know more U.S. history now than in the past, with performance improving on the most recent assessment (2006) compared to 2001.  Still, only 43% of twelfth grade students performed at or above the Basic achievement level (as defined by NAEP), with 11% at or above Proficient and only 1% at Advanced.

National History Day is one program aimed at addressing this issue - making history come alive by engaging youth in hands-on discovery of the experiences of the past.  Students conduct primary and secondary research on their selected topic, then present their work at local, state, and national levels.  National History Day inspires students through exciting competitions while teaching essential historical literacy.  The 2010 National Contest will take place June 13th -17th at the University of Maryland and feature 24 Iowa students!  Among those representing Iowa will be the teams of Christopher & Christine Mbakwe and Meghana Pagadala & Joann Weeks from Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf.  2010 is a national year for the NAEP U.S. history assessment, meaning it was administered country-wide in select schools between January and March, with results to be released in 2011.  With programs like National History Day in place, it is expected performance will continue to improve!

The community is invited to attend a fundraising history-themed Trivia Night on Friday, May 21st in support of Rivermont students' trip to the national competition!  Trivia Night is open to the community - adults and students (grades 6 and up).  Pizza will be served at 5:30 p.m. and competition will get underway at 6:00 p.m.  Cost for adults is $10 and for students is $5.  Participants may register a whole team (6-8 people) or just themselves and they will be assigned to a team (and make some new friends!).  Participants are asked to register by Wednesday, May 19th.  The competition will take place in the auditorium on the Rivermont campus, located directly off 18th Street behind K&K Hardware in Bettendorf.  For additional information on Trivia Night and to register, contact Leigh Ann Schroeder at schroeder@rvmt.org or (563) 359-1366 ext. 343.

For additional information on National History Day, visit www.nationalhistoryday.org

For additional information on The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and The Nation's Report Card, visit http://nationsreportcard.gov

For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org

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