Stamford Teacher Receives National Honor for Lessons About Sept. 11

A Stamford Public Schools history teacher is one of eight teachers nationwide to receive the 9/11 Tribute Center’s annual Teacher Award.

Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE) history teacher Nicholas DeAntonis also is one of only 16 teachers nationwide whose lesson plans are included as part of the 9/11 Tribute Center’s Teaching 9/11 toolkit for teachers, according to the school district.

The 9/11 Tribute Center presents the annual awards to honor teachers who create what are considered exemplary educational projects that help students understand the impact of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. According to the center, “few teachers throughout the country are supported in their efforts to teach about 9/11 and the center has made it a priority to collect, reward, and share the creativity and commitment of teachers that have taken the challenge and made tremendous accomplishments in their schools.”

According to the center, award-winning teachers have engaged students who are too young to remember 9/11 in unique projects that focus on historical and humanitarian aspects of 9/11 history through language arts, history, civics, visual and media arts, and community service.

“It was the realization that while September 11th was an ‘event’ to me, (something I lived through), it was ‘history’ for my students and must be treated as such,” DeAntonis said in a statement. “This prompted me to dedicate an entire unit of study to September 11th. “

DeAntonis and members of his Middle East History class are featured in a video that opens the Global History section of the 9/11 Tribute Center toolkit. Two of his lesson plans, “Understanding the Background of the US Role in the Middle East – 1953 Iranian Coup & America’s Role” and “Negative Stereotypes in the Media,” were chosen to be included in the toolkit for educators around the world to utilize in their classrooms, according to the school district.

“Another aim in creating this project was to teach my students that history is something that is evolving and even average citizens can contribute to its historical narrative,” said DeAntonis. “What’s more, 9/11’s historical narrative is still being written today and will be for a while.”

DeAntonis and the other teachers were honored at a formal ceremony held at the 9/11 Tribute Center on Feb. 26, in tribute to the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. Each awardee received a monetary gift for their school and a Certificate of Merit. Each gift is donated by a 9/11 family foundation. The awards were presented by a Regent of the New York State Education Department.

DeAntonis also is one of only four nominees for Stamford Public Schools Teacher of the Year Award that will be announced in April, according to the school district.

Photo credit: Stamford Public Schools.