By Kurt Brobeck
One year after the launch of Vanderbilt University's Lamar Alexander Initiative, the Initiative recently celebrated the "graduation" of its first cohort of Fellows. Its organizers are already looking forward to welcoming a second set of Fellows this summer.
The Alexander Initiative is housed within Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and development and has the audacious goal of revitalizing history teaching and civics education in U.S. high schools. The Initiative is named for the Honorable Lamar Alexander, Vanderbilt class of '62 and University Trustee, former U.S. senator of Tennessee, the 45th governor of Tennessee, the 5th U.S. Secretary of Education and the former president of the University of Tennessee.
Christopher Loss, Justice-Moore Family Director of the Initiative and associate professor of history and public policy, says "Our approach brings together high school and college educators to work side by side, strengthening the teaching of American history in our nation's schools at a moment that demands both urgency and vision."
Loss and Andrew Hostetler, associate director and professor of the practice of social studies education, are quick to note how enthusiastic the first cohort of teachers was to accept the invitation to become Alexander Fellows. After review of their applications, 30 teachers were offered admission and came to Vanderbilt in June 2025 from 20 states.
"Everybody who received an invitation accepted and came to the program, says Loss, "And they are going to complete the program."
Professional development designed to ensure meaningful change
The Initiative is structured around two components, with the latter fulfilling the promise of the first. An immersive summer residency begins the experience, which is then followed by an academic year of remote coaching where Fellows put what they learned into practice in their own classrooms.
While at Vanderbilt in summer 2025, the first cohort was exposed to a variety of experts drawn from the Vanderbilt faculty. They heard from faculty members in the Departments of History and Political Science and faculty members in the School of Law as well as from Peabody. Fellows learned about the latest findings in curriculum design and about active learning. They visited the Special Collections of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library to learn more about the use of archives and primary sources, and they heard from scholars about integrating technology and AI into teaching. Meeting with nationally known historian Jon Meacham, who holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in the American Presidency, was one of the highlights of their time on campus.
Trips off campus took Fellows to important Nashville historical sites like the Hermitage and the Tennessee State Museum as well as to several civil rights landmarks. Like many of the students they teach, almost all the Fellows expressed a wish that these field trips could have lasted longer.
Alexander Fellow Lucille Finnegan said, "The summer residency was a revitalizing experience that has made me a better history teacher. Our visits to the Tennessee State Museum, Jackson's Hermitage, and downtown Nashville reminded me of the power of using local stories to make history real for students and inspired me to weave more local narratives into my class's study of the American Revolution. I'm happy to say it worked wonders. Never have I seen my students throw themselves so willingly into the past and get so much joy out of learning something new!" Finnegan teaches social studies in Chatham Township, New Jersey.
Universally, the Fellows offered positive assessments of their campus experience, which will be replicated with some variation in 2026. They also forged strong professional bonds. "By the end of day one, they were starting to have positive interactions," says Loss.
Anna Stern, the chair of the history and social studies department of the University School of Nashville, was typical in her response to the summer institute: "Learning from college professors about the current state of research and historiography of various topics in U.S. history was a phenomenal professional experience! It transformed how I share these stories with my students, giving me more information and nuance that adds deeper complexity and context for my lessons. Beyond learning from the professors, it was incredible to learn alongside so many other professionals who were just as invested in their craft as I am. The experience was truly once-in-a-career!"
Looking forward to summer 2026
A new group of 30 Fellows has been selected to take part in this summer's campus experience. Fellows in the new cohort come from 20 states with a range of experience that includes work in both public and independent schools. Nearly half bring more than 11 years' experience in the profession.
Forty-seven percent of the new cohort comes from the Southeast, 20 percent from the Midwest, 17 percent from the West, and 13 percent from the Northeast. As was the case last year, Fellows will receive a stipend, room and board, and a travel allowance.
At the early-career end of the experience range is Benjamin Pomerantz, a U.S. history teacher of three years, currently teaching at Nashville's Pearl-Cohn High School. "The Alexander Initiative is the perfect opportunity to learn from experts in the fields of history and education and to connect with outstanding U.S. history teachers from across the country," says Pomerantz. "I'm thrilled to join the 2026 cohort, and I'm even more excited to take what I learn back to my students next school year."
Marie Phu, who teaches history and social studies, as well as psychology, at W. T. Woodson High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, brings eight years of experience to the new cohort. Phu is excited to connect global perspectives to American civic ideals. "I am interested in the Alexander Initiative because the program's mission aligns with my goal to find meaningful teaching opportunities that strengthen students' understanding of and insight in democratic values and governmental systems."
Another Fellow, Randy Martin, is a National Board Certified Teacher of U.S. history and government in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He brings 19 years' experience to the new cohort of Fellows. Martin highlights the importance of the Alexander Initiative given current global affairs. "Strengthening the teaching of U.S. history, government, and democratic values has rarely been more crucial than it is today. I believe that the Alexander Initiative will provide the content and strategies to do just that."
David Chamberlain is a teacher of 24 years. He is a former public school teacher currently teaching in a history department of one at Burke Mountain Academy, a residential ski academy in Burke, Vermont. Perhaps in keeping with his mountain location, Chamberlain's view of the history discipline and the learning opportunity afforded by the Fellowship is expansive. "History teachers have an indispensable role to play in a national restoration project to strengthen our democracy by promoting civic virtue and optimism about self-governance," he says. "I trust that the Alexander Initiative will give me some of the tools and insights necessary to shore up our democracy for the next generation."
From training to networking and peer support
As professional development opportunities go, the Initiative addresses a problem that many teachers say is a challenge in the profession. "Teachers don't have time during the year for a substantial professional learning opportunity, and then it's two months before they actually get to try and implement something," says Hostetler. Follow-up to professional development opportunities is often lacking.
The Alexander Initiative resolves the challenge of connecting a remarkable on-campus summer experience to concrete improvements in classroom teaching by ensuring that Fellows continue to meet regularly, via Zoom, to share teaching practices and develop curricular materials that others can use. The dual-pronged design of the Initiative stands out because it doesn't just train teachers - it supports them while they teach.
The first cohort has met monthly throughout the current academic year to reinforce their 2026 experience and to discuss ways they have incorporated what they learned in their teaching. The remote sessions have gone beyond anecdotal sharing of classroom experiences to "design labs," facilitated by an instructional coach, where Fellows present lessons and receive feedback from their colleagues. This practice-plus-feedback loop is one of the core innovations of the Initiative.
I'm incredibly thankful for the experience and would wholeheartedly recommend it to any educator seeking to design excellent learning experiences for their students. - Dustin Helton
"Taking our themes and workshops from the summer week and looping them back into monthly virtual meetings helped reinforce my commitment to excellent history teaching," says Dustin "Dusty" Helton, who teaches high school in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The evidence in his classroom, Helton says, "is the intentionality of primary sources - and engaging with them creatively - along with incorporating local history and connections as much as possible to make a larger/broader concept more relatable to students and the school community."
For members of the first cohort of Fellows, the Alexander Initiative experience culminated on April 20 when Fellows submitted a full lesson plan. The deliverable acts as a capstone to the fellowship and will soon be available on the Initiative website for anyone who wants to use them.
"These custom lesson plans have been designed by our teachers for other teachers," says Loss. "It's a unique feature of the Initiative intended to ensure that the work our Fellows do finds a wider audience."
Impact on the profession
One of the benefits of the program is the way it connects teachers with varying levels of experience to build professional networks and communities of practice. Early career teachers can be mentored by mid-career and veteran professionals, who, in turn, get the chance to learn about the latest teaching skills and strategies from their newly trained colleagues.
Loss and Hostetler also are hopeful that the Initiative will encourage some teachers to stay in the profession. "Teacher turnover is a major problem. This program hopes to intervene by giving them a larger network of support," said Loss.
Reflecting on the first summer as well as the way the Initiative goes beyond training, Hostetler says, "They got to know each other so well. There are even members of the cohort that went and visited each other in other states."
Looking back on his own experience and considering the opportunity the Fellowship offers to others, Helton says, "I'm incredibly thankful for the experience and would wholeheartedly recommend it to any educator seeking to design excellent learning experiences for their students by pursuing being an excellent history teacher themselves."
Perhaps a formal alumni network for Fellows would not be a surprise as the second cohort of Lamar Alexander Fellows begins its yearlong journey. Visit the Lamar Alexander Initiative website to view a complete list of Alexander Fellows.
