Bristol School’s 8th grade social studies teacher, Rachel Ringsby, and her students will soon head to Washington D.C. thanks in part to a grant from the American Battlefield Trust’s History Field Trip Grant Program. This trip will provide students with a hands-on history learning opportunity. Grants are awarded based on a competitive national application process.
The trip will take place April 28-May 2.
“We are so excited for our second 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C.,” Ringsby said. “Our students have been learning all about how the United States government works and studying historical figures like Frederick Douglass, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. We are looking forward to touring the White House the U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, Ford’s Theater as well as many of the other monuments and memorials that symbolize our country’s history.”
The American Battlefield Trust is the largest battlefield land preservation organization in the country, having saved more than 58,000 acres of hallowed ground across 24 states. Through visiting preserved battlefields and walking in the footsteps of the citizen soldiers who fought there, the Trust aims to provide a foundation of good citizenship for the leaders of tomorrow. The Trust strives to produce excellent educational resources in a variety of formats for both educators and the public alike, ensuring that Americans never forget how their country was forged.
Every year, the Trust receives applications from classrooms across the country to participate in the History Field Trip Grant Program, which offers funding and assistance to K-12 teachers planning field trips to Civil War, War of 1812, or Revolutionary War battlefields and related historic sites. During the 2022-2023 school year, more than 4,700 students from 28 states took part.
“These kids get a chance to go to where history was made, where our country was created and defined,” said Trust President David Duncan of the History Field Trip Grant Program recipients, “Battlefields are outdoor classrooms that will teach future Americans about our democratic republic.”
The American Battlefield Trust, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, has protected more than 58,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.
