Voorheesville 9th grader Rachel Lee earns award at New York State History Day

(May 12, 2010)  Clayton A. Bouton High School 9th-grade student Rachel Lee competed in the 30th annual New York State History Day competition in Cooperstown, NY, on April 30.

Lee's exhibit "Agricultural Innovation: The Cooperative Extension" earned her The Farmers' Museum Award, which is awarded for an outstanding project focused on the history or innovations related to agriculture.

"I am very excited for Rachel and her achievement at New York State History Day," said Mr. Tom Gladd, advisor to the high school's chapter of the National History Club and social studies department chair. "Even though she is new to Voorheesville, Rachel is a four-year veteran participant of National History Day who has had considerable success throughout that time. I look forward to working with Rachel, and all of our young historians beginning next fall, as we prepare for the 2011 competition."

According to Mr. Gladd, Clayton A. Bouton High School has participated in National History Day for the past five years. Mr. Gladd was recently informed the high school's History Club is one of ten History Clubs selected by the National History Club to receive the "Club of the Year" award.

NYSHD State Coordinator Tobi Voigt said this year's competition was the largest contest in state history, as well as the first contest in which entries from all 14 regions participated. Students in grades 6-12 shared their dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries, interactive web sites and scholarly research papers to a panel of judges at sites all around Cooperstown, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Otesaga Resort Hotel (which will be featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters this summer!), The Farmers' Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum and the New York State Historical Association Research Library.

Over 90 judges reviewed the projects, which had to relate to the annual theme, "Innovation in History: Impact and Change."  Voigt said the judges were impressed by what they saw. In addition to famous innovations in science and medicine, students took on social innovations like the Beatles impact on music and photojournalism's impact on how we view the world.

National History Day, a year-long educational program sponsored in New York State by the New York State Historical Association, encourages students to explore local, state, national, and world history. After selecting a historical topic that relates to an annual theme, students conduct extensive research by using libraries, archives, museums, and oral history interviews. They analyze and interpret their findings, draw conclusions about their topics' significance in history, and create final projects that present their work. These projects can be entered into a series of competitions, from the local to the national level, where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators.