Vision

If we listen carefully to social studies educators, we hear questions of vital importance for our world. These questions include what societies to study, what we can learn from them, and what kind of society we envision for the future.

Concepts like community, identity and multiple perspectives pepper the conversations. We hear talk of understanding social forces and recognizing humans as social beings who spend their lives trying to make sense of the world of human interactions, past and present.

Mission

The Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies, an affiliate of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational corporation representing social studies educators including history, geography, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Our mission is to:

• Promote an understanding of the key concepts, content, standards, and methodology in the fields of history, the social sciences, and social studies’ education through research, communications, and practice;
• Foster teaching practices rooted in democratic principles;
• Provide resources and professional development opportunities for K-16+ social studies’ educators through statewide meetings;
• Represent social studies’ educators of the state of Vermont at various venues; and
• Keep social studies as part of the conversation at the Vermont Department of Education, providing a link between social studies’ educators and the state.

Goals

We have been listening closely to educators throughout the state, and at this site, the Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies offers the products of our recent projects. In partnership with the Regional Educational Technology Network, we videotaped classroom activities and collected resources.

The Alliance also participated in The Flow of History, a federally funded Teaching American History grant focused on the Connecticut River Valley.

We intend that this site becomes a clearinghouse of social studies resources that builds over time. If you or your colleagues have materials to offer, please feel free to contact us.