Generous Donor Gifts = Successful Education Programming
By Development Director Bill Brooks

The In-Depth History Labs have been a great success thanks to generous donors, enthusiastic teachers, guides, and chaperons, and, best of all, enthusiastic learners. 237 students from 10 schools participated in the 2004 program. In 2005, an additional 7 schools participated as well as 20 students from Mainland China.

The In-Depth History Labs are made possible by member contributions, donations to the Annual Appeal, special bequests, and foundation grants. The labs were started by grants from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Windham Foundation. Subsequent grants have been received from BlueCross Blue Shield of Vermont, the Byrne Foundation, Chittenden Bank, Alma Gibbs Donchian Foundation, Mascoma Savings Bank, the A.C. Ratshesky Foundation, Vermont Community Foundation, and another foundation that prefers to remain anonymous. With a new $26,000 grant from the A.D. Henderson Foundation, Inc, the labs will continue through 2006. We are most grateful to all our donors.

Some participating schools:

Barstow Elementary School, Mendon VT 26 students from 4th grade.

• Bethel Elementary School 43 students from 3rd and 4th grades.
• Chester/Andover Elementary School 18 students from 5th grade.
• Dothan School 21 students from 5th grade.
• Hartland School 37 students from 4th grade.
• Middletown Springs Elementary School 11 students from 2nd and 3rd grades.
• Rochester Elementary School 16 students from 4th grade.
• Sherburne Elementary School 15 students from 5th grade.
• Wallingford Elementary School 20 students from 4th grade.
• Weathersfield Middle School 30 students from 6th, 7th, & 8th grades.

Each school group is accompanied by between 3 and 6 chaperons. During the labs the school group is subdivided into student teams of four. Each team is taught by a Coolidge Foundation volunteer, docent/guide.

To prepare properly for the labs, each teacher is contacted personally before the visits. The labs are designed to provide a multi-disciplinary connection to classroom work, standards-based instruction, hands-on inquiry, and problem solving experiences. Resource materials distributed to the teachers prior to the visits include the video Passages to the Presidents: The Childhood of Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, teachers’ guides with chronological summary of the President Coolidge’s life, the accomplishments of his administration (1923-1929), a summary of events and notables contemporary to the Coolidge era, selected Coolidge civil rhetoric from his speeches and writings, a bibliography, a list of internet resources, the source material available on the Coolidge Foundation website, and copies of political cartoons featuring President Coolidge.

In addition, pre-visit materials for use in the classroom, all based on the Vermont Educational Standards, consist of a “Mapping Exercise,” a “Primary Source Exercise,” and an “Artifact Exercise.” Post-visit materials related to the president’s grave and “Vermont is a State I Love” have been added this year.

Educational Coordinator leading a history lab of students to the Plymouth cemetery

The on-site visit to Plymouth Notch portion of the In-Depth History Labs often begins in the schoolhouse with a talk by Bill Jenney, Site Administrator. Students are asked to envision the school days of Calvin Coolidge and what life was like in the 1880s. Norm Van Ness, a retired teacher, demonstrates tools that might have been used in the village and at the blacksmith shop. A scavenger hunt is held and the students search for tools in the Cheese Factory, Coolidge farm shop, Homestead, and Wilder Barn. Students watch the 15-minute video on the life of Calvin Coolidge screened in the Union Christian Church building, circa 1840.

They witness and learn about the Greek revival architectural forms of the building, where Calvin attended services as a boy. Students tour the other buildings at the site – his birthplace, the homestead where he grew up and where the Presidential oath of office was administered in 1923, the village store and the Summer White House Offices located on the second floor. They describe and discuss the world of Calvin Coolidge—his family, his teachers, his town democracy, and his community. The students walk to the cemetery where the President and his family are buried and they discuss his ancestry and learn that this U.S. President is descended from both Native Americans and British royalty!

We have received notes of thanks from the teachers, the chaperons, and the students. We also ask the volunteer docent guides for evaluations. The highlights of the comments are:

• “The entire day was a great –it was particularly meaningful for the children to seen the actual home and belongings.” Cathy Farman, Chaperone, Middletown Springs Elementary School.
• ”The packet you sent had great pre-visit activities, especially the song and the video.” Amy Ladabouche, Teacher, Sherburne Elementary School.
• “I loved the school house and discussing Calvin’s school experiences. The kids seemed entranced. It was wonderful that the guides were so enthusiastic about the history and conveyed that enthusiasm towards the students.” Chaperone, Rochester Elementary School
• “We learned so many awesome facts about Calvin Coolidge. We couldn’t believe that when Calvin was a kid he was so shy. Who would know that the future President of the United States was shy?   . . . Well thanks for the really fun time.” – Frank Kelley’s 4th Grade Class from Chester-Andover School
• “The In-Depth History Labs helped the students appreciate what we have in our own time; there was neither electricity or running water in the village where Calvin Coolidge was born in 1872.” – Norman Vanasse, docent
• “I always tell the story of the time when Calvin awoke early in the morning remembering that he had neglected to cut wood for the kitchen woodstove. He immediately went downstairs, cut the wood, and then went back to bed. The story speaks to a large degree of his sense of responsibility to his family.” – Barbara Eakle, docent 

If you know a school that would like to participate, please call the Coolidge Foundation office at (802) 672-3389.