Training Program Brings California Teachers To East Coast To Tour Historical Sites

California's Imperial Valley Press (7/18, Flores) reported that a group of teachers from Imperial County, California recently toured historic landmarks on the East Coast "on the Imperial Teaching American History (ITAH) Civil War Battlefields Tour 2010 this month. The weeklong trip, which was paid for by federal funds from a bill sponsored by late Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia, was sponsored by the Imperial County Office of Education as professional development." The tour culminated "a year of intensive study and other development training" that included "a six-day summer institute, three days of Saturday technology training, and three afternoons of book seminars." In addition, the "teachers read important Civil War literature, designed curriculum and wrote lesson plans," said Michele Soria, the history-social science school support coordinator for ITAH.