BORA president Sharon Graves named
2014 Kentucky History Teacher of Year

Richmond social studies teacher and Battle of Richmond Association President (BORA) Sharon Graves is the 2014 Kentucky History Teacher of the Year.

The award, announced by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, honors Graves for outstanding work in the classroom and the level of inspiration provided to her students. The honor also cites the Waco resident for her career achievements in education.

As Teacher of the Year, the Clark-Moores Middle School faculty member will receive a $1,000 award, a certificate of recognition and an archive of books and historical resources presented in her name to the school’s library. She also is invited to attend a 2015 Gilder Lehrman Teacher seminar and is a finalist for the $10,000 National History Teacher of the Year Award.

In addition, Clark-Moores will be named a Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School, which provides a variety of educational resources and forums with outstanding historians.

Graves, a specialist in Civil War history, has taught early American history for 25 years, 24 of those at Clark-Moores. The Gilder Lehrman award is her fifth state honor as a teacher, having previously been inducted into the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame in 2012, named the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Kentucky History Teacher of the Year in 2005, Kentucky Department of Education Teacher of Excellence in 2008 and named a recipient of the Kentucky Historical Society Award of Merit in 2009.

Where Civil War history is concerned, Graves gives her students basic instructions about the war and each student picks a topic and activity they research in the library during and after school. As Graves covers other history topics required by her curriculum, students continue their Civil War research throughout the year until they present their work at the Battle of Richmond’s Living History program each spring.

Students make their own period attire from donated fabrics, give guided tours to fourth- and fifth-grade students from other schools and conduct a number of living history demonstrations. Students also assist with BORA re-enactments and other activities that count toward 20 hours of community service required of each student in Graves’ class.

The Living History program features Civil War activities and demonstrations that focus on such topics as period clothing and flags, stories about War-Between-the-States personalities, cooking, infantry drilling, agriculture and battlefield officers and commanders.  
Through collaboration with BORA, Graves has grown participation in the Battle of Richmond’s Living History program from about 100 students to more than 1,100 young people.

Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement of history education. The Institute has developed an array of programs for schools, teachers, and students that now operate in all 50 states.