This project will recruit teachers from mainly rural, small, relatively disadvantaged Ohio districts with significant instructional deficiencies (50 percent are in school improvement) and a lack of professional development opportunities in history. Each year, the project will present new historical materials and concepts during three all-day seminars and a 5-day summer institute. Between seminars, teachers will participate in guided discussion, assessment of digital resources and other activities organized through the project Web site. Project activities, such as lesson plan presentations and team collaboration, will take place across each year. In Year 1, 50 teachers will participate; in each succeeding year, 25 new recruits will join 25 veterans of the project. This mix will allow some teachers to continue their development while simultaneously reaching additional teachers in more schools. The teachers will explore the central issues and turning points of traditional U.S. history through the lenses of regional, state and local history. The project will incorporate a rigorous curriculum of graduate-level history founded on recognized milestones and movements in American history. In terms of strategies, the seminar instruction and teacher-generated products will emphasize detailed analyses of key documents, and the professional development format will offer three graduate credits in history from Miami University. A project Web site will include portfolios of instructional activities and resources developed by the teachers, presentations given by the content providers, and videos and other documentation from the most effective activities and content seminars.