Name: The Perseverance and Ingenuity of Washington and Hoover
Start: 2026-08-10T08:00:00-0400
End: 2026-08-10T16:00:00-0400
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon

Walk away with fresh ideas and ready-to-use resources

Using these two leaders as accessible anchors, teachers examine how and why political ideas change over time, when constitutional limits are tested or reinterpreted. Teachers will have the opportunity to hear from renowned historian and presidential scholar, Jeremi Suri, and explore the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Teachers will walk away with fresh ideas, ready-to-use resources, and insights to help students think critically about leaderships and legacies and how to make them relevant to present day.

Schedule

8 a.m.	Check In and Breakfast
8:30 a.m.	Welcome, Introduction & Overview
9 a.m.	Learn about the connections between George Washington, Valley Forge, and Hoover’s Meaning of America. Dr. Thomas Schwartz
9:45 a.m.	Break
10 a.m.	Archives Dive Bridget Nash
11 a.m.	Explore the exhibits at the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum including a temporary showcase of Hoover’s collection of Washington artifacts
12 p.m.	Lunch
1 p.m.	Hoover and Washington in the Classroom with Katy Forsythe
2 p.m.	Break
2:15 p.m.	Intersections of Agriculture and History
3:15 p.m.	Presidential Trivia

Registration Requirements

Who can register?

Teachers MUST teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting.
The workshop is limited to 25 teachers.
A waitlist will be available if registration meets full capacity.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]

Meet the Speaker

Thomas F. Schwartz

Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz received a PhD in History/International Relations from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Schwartz worked in special collections at the Illinois State Historical Library, now the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, from 1985 to 2011. He served as Illinois State Historian from 1993 to 2011. He led the historical content team for the development of exhibits at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and served as the Director of Research and Collections at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from 2005 to 2011.

In July 2011, the Archivist of the United States appointed him as the director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa. He currently is working with the Hoover Presidential Foundation on a $20 million renovation of the permanent galleries which will be available in 2026.

Melanie Bloom

Melanie Bloom, the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year, has 16 years of experience as a secondary Career and Technical Educator and several years as a curriculum developer, focusing on student-centered inquiry methods.

She enjoys providing students with opportunities to explore careers and participate in the agricultural industry. Bloom holds B.S. degrees in Agricultural Education and Animal Science and an M.S. degree in Agricultural Education from Iowa State University; she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Agricultural Education and Leadership Development through the University of Missouri - Columbia, focused on curricular development and implementation.

Hailing from five generations of Northwest Iowa farm families, Bloom draws content knowledge from her experiences in agriculture with husband, Stephen, and three daughters.

Meet the Educators

Britney Nash

Bridget Nash, MA, is a seasoned educator and researcher with over 25 years of experience in various settings, including K-12 and Higher Education classrooms, as well as museums. Currently, she serves as the Education Specialist for the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum/National Archives and Records Administration, where she researches, develops, and facilitates programming for audiences of all ages, including student groups and educators.

Awarded the Excellence in Teaching award from Arizona Western College, Bridget continues to challenge students to not only gain a better understanding of global interconnectedness but to critically examine their own positions in these global processes while also applying what they are learning to real-world issues.

Katy Forsythe

Katy Forsythe is a high school social studies teacher at Dallas Center-Grimes High School in Iowa, a GWTI250 Ambassador at George Washington's Mount Vernon, and a proctor for the Presidential 1776 Award with the U.S. Department of Education.

Katy was Iowa's 2023 James Madison Fellow and has since engaged in intensive study of the American Founding and Constitution at Georgetown and Ashland University. As part of the Leadership and Legacy of George Washington Fellowship at Mount Vernon, Katy created an infographic and activity sheets scaffolded to elementary, middle, and high school students. She brought these experiences and skills to the National Constitution Center, where the Teaching250 Convening brought together educators from across the country to develop lessons centered on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.