NEW YORK --A teacher whose class project on a Colonial-era ironworks turned up documents dating to the Revolutionary War was honored Friday by first lady Laura Bush for helping preserve the nation's history.
Maureen Festi, an elementary school teacher in Stafford, Conn., was named the Preserve America National History teacher of the year. Bush, herself a former teacher, presented Festi with the award during a ceremony at the Museum of the City of New York
Festi, who was accompanied by two of her fifth-grade students, had helped them research a Colonial ironworks in Stafford, locating primary source documents dating to the Revolutionary War.
"I never dreamed I would win the award. I was shocked when I heard about it," said Festi, who has 30 years' teaching experience and had been named this year's history teacher of the year in Connecticut.
The national award, in its fourth year, is presented jointly by Preserve America, a federal initiative to protect the country's natural and historical resources, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a nonprofit organization that promotes American history education.
Bush is the honorary chairwoman of Preserve America.
