Constitutional Fellows Program

The National Constitution Center has embarked on one of the most ambitious undertakings in our history—creating a semester-long Constitution 101 online course, grounded in the reading of primary source documents.

The Center is now working with high school teachers, schools, and leaders who are interested in piloting the course and providing the Center with feedback and data in an effort to understand its efficacy, including strengths and weaknesses.

The Constitutional Fellows program is a year-long academic commitment with the National Constitution Center to engage in professional development, focus group feedback, activity design, and evaluation. As a part of this fellowship, each member agrees to implement and evaluate the Constitution 101 15-week curriculum for high school students.

Fellows meet online monthly via Zoom. During these sessions, the fellows are exposed to the constitutional education framework and pedagogical approaches introduced during the course, as well as the high school Constitution 101 content instruction. In addition, participating educators are trained in civil dialogue techniques designed to integrate civil dialogue practice with the course materials. The sessions range from professional development to guided coaching on how to teach the Constitution 101 course and successfully use the primary sources in the National Constitution Center’s Founders' Library.

Participating classes are asked to administer pre/post-testing for the course and engage in a focus group and survey evaluation for both teachers and students. After their semester is completed, fellows will present their cumulative reports and evaluations of the Constitution 101 course and Founders’ Library materials.

Eligible Participants

The Constitutional Fellows program invites educators from all high school-level social studies, history, government, and literacy disciplines to apply. Admission into the prestigious fellows program is competitive; limited space is available. The fellowship recruitment team considers a wide range of factors before making their decisions.

Requirements:

• Active educator in a school system that has direct access to high school classroom
• Educator of social studies, American government, American history, or English language arts, or literature
• Ability to use the 15-module curriculum in your classroom to completion, with limited modification from the educator.
• Agreement form signed by department lead, curriculum supervisor, or principal.

Time Commitment

• A constitutional fellow will be available to attend the majority of the meetings listed:
• Virtual, one-day training at launch of the fellowship
• In-person, multi-day training in Philadelphia
• Monthly meetings for professional development training, coaching, and collaboration between NCC education team members and fellow cohort members.

We also require:

• Ability to test curriculum to completion in the classroom, which will be essential to long-term school adoption of the course.
• Ability to administer surveys, pretests, and posttests in classrooms, and to join in focus group discussions.
• Journaling of pilot experiences throughout the process (with bi-weekly submissions).

Stipend

The National Constitution Center Constitutional Fellows will receive a $2,500 stipend for the year-long fellowship, which will be processed quarterly.

• Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski, Bonny Eagle High School, ME
• Emily Bohn, Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, NJ
• E. Michael Chelsky, Independence High School, CA 
• Mike Cormack, Southwest Valley School District, IA
• Jessica Culver, Ozark High School, AR
• Terrilisa Durham, ECST - Congressman Donald M Payne Sr., Tech, NJ
• Amy Elsass, Miamisburg High School, OH
• Trish Everett, Pine Crest School, FL
• Isaac Farhadian, John H. Pitman High School, CA
• Nick Hernandez, Kern High School, CA
• Julie Hershenberg, Collin College, TX
• Allison Hoffner, Central Crossing High School, OH
• Michael Horwits, Central High School, PA
• Kimberly Huffman, Wayne County Joint Vocational School District, OH
• Kevin Jackson, Petaluma High School, CA
• Jennifer Luneau, Constitution High School, PA
• Rebekkah Morrow, Westmoore High School, OK
• Michelle Natale, Mount De Sales Academy, MD
• Rachel Newman, Abraham Lincoln High School, PA
• Leigh Ann Schroeder, Rivermont Collegiate, IA
• Kristi Wasko, Two Harbors High School, MN
• Sue Witmer, Northeastern Senior High School, PA
• Ashley Zeserman, Central High School, PA

Constitution 101 is a 15-unit asynchronous, semester-long curriculum that provides students with a basic understanding of the Constitution’s text, history, structure, and caselaw. Drawing on primary source documents from our new, curated online Founders’ Library—containing over 170 historical texts and over 70 landmark Supreme Court cases selected by leading experts of different perspectives—students will study the historical and philosophical foundations of America’s founding principles from a range of diverse voices. The curriculum guides students to think like constitutional lawyers—cultivating the skills necessary to analyze all sides of constitutional questions.

Learn More >>