North Hills Educator
Named National History
Teacher of the Year
N
orth Hills Middle School
educator Joe Welch was
selected as the 2018 National
History Teacher of the Year by
the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History.
Welch, who is the youngest winner to
date, was honored at a ceremony at the
Yale Club in New York City in October.
Edward L. Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright
Professor of Humanities and President
Emeritus at the University of Richmond
presented him with the award and a
$10,000 prize.
“There are many facets of my teaching
that I would like to continue to improve
and partnerships I would like to explore,
and the application process for this
award has been both self-reflective and
inspirational,” said Welch. “My goal is to
continue to innovate in my classroom
and to be a leader and advocate for social
studies and history education, both in my
state and nationwide.”
Welch, a Grade 8 social studies teacher,
was chosen by a panel of teachers,
administrators and scholars from across
the nation for his achievements in
American history education. The award
is presented annually by the institute,
which is the nation’s leading organization
dedicated to K-12 American history
education. Welch was named
Pennsylvania History Teacher of the Year
by the organization this summer and
announced as a Top 10 national finalist in
August.
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. The award honors
one K-12 teacher from each state, the
District of Columbia, Department of
Defense schools and U.S. territories.
“Joe Welch is an advocate for each
and every student, working to find
multiple strategies to reach out, engage,
and challenge them at their level while
creating the best educational learning
environment possible,” said David
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ROSS TOWNSHIP
Lieberman, principal of North Hills
Middle School. “I have learned to rely
on Mr. Welch as an integral educational
leader, a person who is passionate about
student learning, and a National Board
Social Studies teacher who takes on
responsibilities outside of the classroom.
In his classroom, Welch is known for
creative and innovative projects that
bring American history alive for his
students. His philosophy for teaching
history, which was included in the
application process, is based on students
creating stories and publishing content.
His students have the opportunity to
create animated videos, remix songs
to analyze an era of American history,
create illustrated children’s books to
explain primary sources, intertwine
augmented reality to create gallery
walks of presidential administrations, all
while integrating the resources afforded
by North Hills’ Project Connect 1:1 iPad
initiative.
Welch’s students were recognized
in 2017 for their Building Bridges: Oral
History to Connect Communities and
Generations project. Welch, along with
middle school English teacher Vicki
Truchan, oversaw the student publishing
of four volumes of community oral
history narratives and student analysis
that are now available for free on iBooks.
This project was recognized with the
Association for Middle Level Education
National Community Engagement
Award in 2017. Recently, Mr. Welch
has been instrumental in launching
the National History Day program at
North Hills. In conjunction with fellow
social studies teacher Larry Dorenkamp,
he hosted a community Vietnam War
event in cooperation with WQED and
PBS, sparking student interest in POW
research and a special screening of Ken
Burns’ documentary “The Vietnam War.”
In addition to this honor, Welch
is an Apple Distinguished Educator
(ADE) and lead PBS Digital Innovator
for Pennsylvania. As an ADE, he is part
of a global community of education
leaders recognized their work with Apple
technology in and out of the classroom,
who advise Apple on integrating
technology as well as serving as content
creators for Apple. He also was one of 16
local teachers honored with a Leaders
in the Classroom award and grant from
Chevron last school year.
Welch is a recognized presenter who
has shared his expertise and knowledge
with other educators at various state
and national education events. He has
presented at the International Society
for Technology in Education (ISTE)
conference on multiple occasions,
the National Council for the Social
Studies annual conference and the
Association for Middle Level Education
national conference in addition to state
conferences including the AIU’s Social
Studies Symposium and Pennsylvania
Educational Technology Expo and
Conference.
About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History
Founded in 1994 by philanthropists
Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman,
the Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History is the nation’s
leading organization dedicated to
K-12 American history education. The
Institute’s mission is to promote the
knowledge and understanding of
American history through educational
programs and resources. Drawing on the
65,000 documents in the Gilder Lehrman
Collection and an extensive network of
eminent historians, the Institute provides
teachers, students, and the general public
with direct access to unique primary
source materials. The Institute’s programs
have been recognized by awards
from the White House, the National
Endowment for the Humanities, and the
Organization of American Historians.