The American Village || 2008

Welcome to our American Village School Programs 2008-2009
A Catalog of Education Offerings.

We hope this guide will be a useful overview of how you can participate in one of the many exciting and engaging school programs offered by The Citizenship Trust at its American Village education campus. Chartered by legislative act in 1995, and operating as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational foundation, the Trust opened the doors of American Village for school and public visitors in late 1999. Since then American Village has welcomed school groups from nine Southeastern states, and general visitors from throughout the United States and from other countries.

We believe American Village is a national treasure, serving as an innovative American history and civics educational center, located in Montevallo, AL, about a half hour south of Birmingham. The mission of American Village Citizenship Trust is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education.

We consider it a great privilege to welcome school groups. Our talented staff enjoys educating and inspiring young people to explore the remarkable foundations of our country, and to consider the obligations of being a good citizen.

Please contact our staff toll-free at 1-877-811-1776 (or 205-665-3535 in the Birmingham calling area). We stand ready to make your visit to American Village a revolutionary educational experience!

Over a quarter of a million students have made history at American Village, experiencing the past with a visit to this unique interactive colonial classroom. Students from every grade level participate in experiential learning every day. American Village is unique in its mission to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education. More than a field trip, American Village educational programs are tied directly to objectives in the state course of study and graduation standards. Lesson plans can be downloaded from our website.

Introduce your students to a powerful way of learning American history, civics, and government. At the Village, participants actually step into scenes of history to meet men and women, famous and unknown, who made a difference in our country. Register now to request the time you prefer to visit -- many days are already fully booked. Call immediately for available dates. Reservations are taken in the order they are received and are confirmed upon receipt of deposit.

REMEMBER: Give yourself plenty of time to travel back to the 18th century and other historical eras. Please arrive no later than 9:00 a.m. for the 9:30 program start time. (Please arrive at 11:00 a.m. for the B Block of Living America’s Story, which begins promptly at 11:30.) Lunch for Liberty! is now at the end of all programming. Students will go through five vignette rotations and then eat lunch at approximately 12:30 p.m.

For the young student, American Village recommends its popular and exciting early childhood program. Students might travel with Miles Standish on the Mayflower for Thanksgiving, celebrate a Colonial Christmas, meet George Washington and King George III for Presidents’ Days, or learn about Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride in the Patriots program. The historical adventures change with each presentation.

Best suited for grades K-3, this program offers these students the chance to participate in meaningful seasonal programs. (Colonial Christmas best for Grades 2- 3, Presidents is best for Grades 1-3.)

Program Time: (A) 9:30 - 11:00 (B) 11:30 - 1:00
Program Dates: September 22 - 26 (Patriots); November 10 - 25 (Thanksgiving)
December 15 - 18 (Christmas); February 17 - 25 (Presidents); March 30 - April 3 (Patriots).
Fee: $8 for students and chaperones who sign up by the registration date; free for teachers and school administrators (1 free teacher ticket for every 20 students).

For intermediate grades, Liberty! is the best choice of programming. This program correlates to the Alabama Course of Study for the 5th grade.

LIBERTY! is the premiere program of American Village. Visitors are active participants in the Stamp Act Rally, unrest in the streets of Boston in 1775, the Virginia Convention, the siege of Yorktown, the Constitutional Convention, and Washington’s Presidency. Appealing to all learning styles, Liberty! employs reading, listening, seeing, speaking, and physical engagement as it connects students in the immediacy of great moments of history.

Program Time: 9:30 - 1:00 (Time for lunch included.)
Program Dates: September 8 - 12, 18 - 19, 29 - 30; October 1 - 23; November 5 - 7;
December 1 - 4, 8 - 12; February 2 - 13, 26 - 27; March 2 - 27; April 6 - 9, 13 - 30; May 4 - 22.
Fee: $8 for students and chaperones who sign up by the registration date; free for teachers and school administrators (1 free teacher ticket for every 20 students).

For middle school students, we recommend Liberty! which correlates to the Alabama Course of Study for 7th grade or Stand Up for the Right to Vote, which is also appropriate for middle school students and especially suited to 6th and 7th grades.

LIBERTY! is the premiere program of American Village. Visitors are active participants in the Stamp Act Rally, unrest in the streets of Boston in 1775, the Virginia Convention, the siege of Yorktown, the Constitutional Convention, and Washington’s Presidency. Appealing to all learning styles, Liberty! employs reading, listening, seeing, speaking, and physical engagement as it connects students in the immediacy of great moments of history.

Get ready for the National Student Mock Election by engaging students in this challenging American Government experience. Students retrace the history of the right to vote in our nation, from a colonial election to the Women’s Suffrage movement and the 1960s Voting Rights Movement. The program also features the unique Alabama Power Voting Experience.

Program Time: 9:30 - 1:00 (time for lunch included)
Program Dates: October 27 - 31; November 3 - 4.
Fee: $8 for students and chaperones who sign up by the registration date; free for teachers and school administrators (1 free teacher ticket for every 20 students).

For high school students, we recommend Liberty! or Stand Up for the Right to Vote, which is also appropriate for high school students and especially suited to 11th and 12th grades.

Program Time: 9:30 - 1:00 (Time for lunch included.)
Program Dates: October 27 - 31; November 3 - 4.
Fee: $8 for students and chaperones who sign up by the registration date; free for teachers and school administrators (1 free teacher ticket for every 20 students).

A special program is now available for schools and youth groups with significant numbers of "At-Risk*" students (*At-Risk = Groups where students are enrolled in Title 1 schools or schools/groups with a significant percentage of students receiving reduced/free lunches).

Theme: Standing on the shoulders of others who went before, I, too, can make a difference!

WINTER PROGRAM DATES: January 8 - 30 (Except for January 19, Martin Luther King Day). Program Time: 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (Time for lunch included.)

SUMMER PROGRAM DATES: Select dates in June and July. Call for more information. Program Time: Two sessions; 9:00 - 12:00/1:00 - 4:00.

PROGRAM FEE: Free to "At-Risk" school groups.
LUNCH: Free to "At-Risk" school groups.
TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE: $1 per student.
APPROPRIATE GRADE RANGE: 4th - 8th grades.
TO REGISTER: Call 205-665-3535 or 1-877-811-1776.

The Village inspires students to take the Citizenship Challenge. With encounters from people of the past, this program encourages children to see that they have worth, that they count, and that they can do what they set their minds to do. Participants learn character and civic education in following the lead of the historical characters they encounter and, thus, discover that they can make a difference in the world.

This program was supported by Award No. 2006-JL-FX-0179 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs.

Only 25 students in middle and high school (grades 6 through 12) are chosen each year for this program available to students interested in fine arts performance and history. During the summer, the Village is host to thousands of visitors. Junior interpreters assist our professional educational interpreters to help immerse visitors in customs and times of the 18th Century by participating in puppet shows, colonial games, and various historical vignettes.

Program Dates: Training is set by the Coordinator and is usually the last of May and the first week or two in June, for which attendance is mandatory. Participants must commit to a minimum of two days per week over the summer.
Fee: No fee; purchase of 18th Century costume required.

The American Village Liberty Bells is a service organization whose purpose is to give Shelby County high school junior girls experience in assuming civic responsibilities. The Liberty Bells will serve through their Junior year as hostesses and guides at several American Village functions. Through their volunteer efforts they will gain knowledge about the community as well as the rewards of voluntarism. A limited number of girls from each public and private Shelby County high school will be honored by being chosen for this select organization.

American Village is committed to partnering with schools and school systems to design professional development programs in history and social studies, tailored to individual needs and requirements. For instance American Village partners with Jefferson County Schools, Alabama, to provide professional development for their teachers as part of a Teaching American History grant, sponsored by the United States Department of Education. An intensive two-day program has been developed to teach experiential learning, primary sources in the classroom, methodology, and more. Village staff members have created curriculum and other educational materials to accompany this conference.

Contact Rebecca Beaty, Director of School Services and Educational Curriculum (rbeaty@americanvillage.org or 205-665-3535, ext. 23) to partner with your school or school system for a grant or to explore professional development opportunities.

American Village's educational programs seek to overcome what national leaders call "large and disturbing gaps" in student knowledge of history and civics.

A major educational assessment conducted in collaboration with the University of Montevallo College of Education found American Village's school program to be a winner. This evaluation examined the educational effectiveness of the program, using pre-and post-tests, including written narratives. Students from rural, suburban, and urban systems were part of the study. The report cited "highly significant gains on post-test scores." (The summary noted the probability of these gains being due to chance range from less than 1 in 100 to less than 1 in 10,000.)

Wear appropriate clothing for the weather; some vignettes are outside, rain or shine.
FOR RAIN: Ponchos are preferred over umbrellas for movement.
FOR COLD DAYS: Please don’t forget the jackets or coats!
FOR SUNNY DAYS: Wear plenty of sunscreen.
ALL DAYS: Wear comfortable shoes; you will be walking much of your visit.

HELP PRESERVE THE VILLAGE: We ask that you do not eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum inside the buildings; place trash in wooden barrels. Picnic tables may be used at any time for your eating enjoyment.

NECESSARIES OR REST ROOMS: These are located in small buildings on either end of Constitution Green, beside the Courthouse and behind Washington Hall.

STILL PHOTOGRAPHS ONLY, PLEASE: Once our vignettes begin, we ask that absolutely no videotaping or audio recording take place. Electronic devices (radios, Walkmans, iPods, etc.) are not allowed at American Village. Please turn off pagers and cell phones. You are welcome to take still photos at any time.

How To Confirm Your Reservation: Phone reservations will be released after 30 days if not made tentative by receipt of a school group reservation request form. Upon scheduling of your tentative reservation, you will be mailed a Confirmation Invoice. Your reservation will then be confirmed upon our receipt of a $1.00 non-refundable deposit for each paying attendee. To accurately fill our daily enrollment capacity, it is important that you make your reservation numbers as exact as possible. Reservations that are not confirmed with a deposit 45 days prior to the scheduled date may be released for use by other school groups.

Note: American Village hopes that your educational experience will be both enjoyable and informative. To assure a safe and pleasant learning environment, we require at least two teachers or adults to accompany each class group and to be responsible for the orderly conduct of the members of that group.