Josh DeSantis

"Young Historians" is the winning program created by DeSantis for students at Susquenita Middle School. The program will provide students with the opportunity to interpret the history of their communities - the towns of Duncannon and Marysville - for their families, neighbors and school. Students will conduct research, develop narratives and create public historical interpretations. They will complete secondary source readings about local history and form small teams to develop topic ideas relating to their communities. The eighth-grade students will use their research to develop lesson plans and illustrate children's books, which they will implement and read respectively to fifth-grade students at the school. At the end of the program, students will share their audio-visual presentations and walking tours to the community during a Heritage Day celebration in 2011. DeSantis, who lives in Camp Hill, hopes that the project will emphasize student-centered interpretations of history and serve as a model for other educators.