About Congressional Academy Ohio

The Ohio Historical Society's Congressional Academy for Students of American History and Civics Education is an exceptional approach to providing a traditional American history and civics education experience to Ohio high school students.  The Congressional Academy will begin each year with a week-long Field School held during the summer followed by a student-led and locally-based history or civics project to be completed over the course of the subsequent school year.  Each school team will be awarded a $2500 stipend upon the completion of the Field School.

During the summer Field School students will learn about the development of democracy in the United States by using Ohio as a case study.  Students will also learn how to make connections between content and artifacts by learning how to find and use primary resources in their own research.  Following the Field School each school team will research and create a service project over the course of the school year.  The students will apply the skills they learned during the Field School and the stipend that they will receive will cover any expenses that accrue during the course of the project.

The purpose and mission of the Congressional Academy program is to inspire better teaching and active learning of the key events, documents, people, and ideas that shaped the development of Ohio and the democratic heritage of the United States.   This program offers students an opportunity to become engaged in history and offers a way for them to connect with the history of their own individual communities.  Through the Congressional Academy program students will develop a deeper appreciation for history, which will help make them better, more productive citizens.