Ford's Theatre

Ford's Theatre Society will expand the National Oratory Fellows program, a professional development program for teachers of middle and high school students nationwide. Inspired by President Abraham Lincoln's powerful oratory, the National Oratory Fellows program has developed a professional learning community to provide teachers with a range of new classroom strategies to integrate primary source analysis with oratory performance in order to enhance their students' academic achievement, foster citizen leadership, and cultivate empathy. The project will serve 40 teacher Fellows, who will teach over 4,000 students throughout the grant period. Another estimated 400-500 teachers who teach approximately 20,000 students will participate in professional development workshops. A comprehensive assessment of three fellowship cycles will be conducted to validate the program model. Additional project activities include the expansion of resources available to teachers across the country and the dissemination of findings about the program among educators and museum professionals through the museum's website and in conference presentations.