The district and its rural consortium schools are partnering with the University of Montana, Montana Committee for the Humanities, Missoula City-County Library, and Fort Missoula Historical Museum to stimulate student learning in grades 5, 8 and 11, increase teacher knowledge of American history, and build a professional model. The model includes summer institutes for teachers, lesson creation, field testing and revision, mentoring, opportunity to discuss material with a professional historian, and scholarly interactions-including book-study groups-among elementary, middle and high school teachers from 35 town and village schools. Subject matter addresses migrations across North America, examining consequences for Native Americans. Three periods will be explored: population movements on Appalachian frontiers in the 18th century; movement onto the central heartlands in the early 19th century, and movements west to the Pacific in the late 19th century.