FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 9, 2005

Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster

559.278.5292 or 559.593.1815

A new option for the master’s degree in history will soon be added to the master’s degree program in history at California State University, Fresno. The option, which is subject to campus approval, will be aimed at secondary teachers who wish to integrate the traditional American history master’s degree content knowledge into their classroom curriculum.

The degree is part of the American Foundations and Documents in Action project, which is designed to raise student achievement in American history throughout a six-county region in central California. It provides opportunities for 200 teachers in grades five through 12 in Fresno, Merced, Madera, Mariposa, Kings and Tulare counties to deepen their knowledge, understanding and appreciation of traditional American history.

Clovis Unified School District is coordinating the efforts of partners in the project, including the Fresno State history department, the San Joaquin Valley History/Social Science Project and the American Institute for History Education.

A $1.78-million federal grant award to Clovis Unified for the project was recently announced by Congressman Devin Nunes of Tulare. The grant, which spans 2005-09, was the largest awarded to applicants in California and the third-largest in the country. Of the 321 grant applicants from across the United States, 129 were funded.

For more information on the master’s degree for teachers, contact Michelle DenBeste at mdenbest@csufresno.edu.