George Washington Teacher Institute
This year marked a very special milestone for the George Washington Teacher Institute as it celebrated 20 years of residential teacher programming. The residential programs, established in 1999, offer teachers from around the country a week-long immersive experience at Mount Vernon, where they interact with Mount Vernon staff to learn new ways to teach the founding era and the life of George Washington in their classrooms. Since the program began, Mount Vernon has welcomed 1,637 teachers from every state in the union. Programs are offered annually in the spring, summer, and fall. Each week is a deep-dive into one of the following specialized themes:
• First in Business: Washington, Mount Vernon, and the New Nation
• George Washington at War: From Soldier to Commander in Chief
• Leadership and Legacy: Lessons from George Washington
• Martha Washington and the Women of the 18th Century
• Slavery in George Washington's World
• The Great Experiment: George Washington and the Founding of the U.S. Government
Teachers who complete the program join the Teacher Institute's alumni network and become ambassadors in their school districts training other teachers in the skills and techniques discovered at Mount Vernon.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program, Mount Vernon invited the alumni to the estate on July 4–6 for an extraordinary experience that included staff and guest lectures, tours, and a behind-the-scenes look at Mount Vernon's collections. In addition to the celebration at Mount Vernon, seven regional reunions were held across the country. The 20th anniversary alumni reunions were generously sponsored by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
Mount Vernon's teacher outreach expands well beyond the estate. Educators can signup to receive monthly emails offering lesson plans, videos, digital interactives, and digitalized primary sources to aid learning in their classroom. Mount Vernon also continued to partner with McGraw-Hill Publishing and Discovery Education to share Mount Vernon-created materials within these school-based learning platforms.
Lead donors who supported the GWTI in 2019 include
Dr. Stephanie M. Bennett-Smith
The Challenge Foundation
Mr. Lammot J. du Pont
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Eagon
Dr. and Mrs. Fritz Fischer
Honorable Terri Lynn Land and Daniel Tedford Hibma
Huether-McClelland Foundation
Helen Herboth Laughery
Dr. J. Phillip London and Dr. Jennifer Burkhart London
John and Adrienne Mars
The Ben May Charitable Trust
Mr. and Mrs. Clark Musser
George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Foundation
Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Reh
Scandling Family Foundation
Shatz Charitable Foundation
The I. N. and Susanna H. Van Nuys Foundation
To sponsor a teacher, contact the Development Department at 703.799.8647.
LEARN MORE