The Philadelphia school district will partner with Temple University, the Atwater Kent Museum and International Historical Park to conduct a professional development project for teachers in 8th, 11th, and 12th grades. One goal of the project is to increase the content knowledge of the U.S. history field among the teachers. Another goal is to increase the capacity to present this content knowledge in the classroom to better engage the students' interest in the subject. The relationship between local and national history will be a major focus. Among the facets of this program are: symposia series, summer institutes, classroom visitations, and teacher networking.