Across the country, students are learning about the historical process through their participation in National History Day. Young historians from Stanislaus County were no exception as students competed in the Stanislaus County History Day on March 1, at Modesto Junior College.
According to the Stanislaus County Office of Education website, more than 90 Stanislaus County students in grades 4th-12th participated in the day-long event. About a third of those students represented the Newman Crows Landing Unified School District in a variety of historical projects.
National History Day is an academic program that introduces students to the study of history by having them conduct original research and create projects that range from posters and exhibits to performances, documentaries, podcasts, and websites.
Two local teachers, Korey Santor (7th/8th Grade History teacher at Yolo Middle School) and Martin Freeburg (5th Grade teacher at Bonita Elementary School) have ignited a passion for history within their classrooms in preparation of this annual competition.
“This is my 10th year in this competition,” Santor reflected, “and I’d estimate about 150 of my students have gone on to the state competition over the years.”
This year Santor devoted a regularly scheduled “genius hour” within his history classes to encourage original research projects. The projects were all student-led from brainstorm to fruition and encouraged both individual and group projects at the students’ discretion.
“Our principal has been very supportive of this initiative from the students and helped foster their sense of competition by offering $500 in prizes to the top three entries,” Santor explained.
As a result 10 groups were chosen to move on to compete at the county competition.
“One student is a veteran of the competition from last year, the remaining students are all brand new, so it was very exciting to see the enthusiasm grow,” Santor added.
This year the theme is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” This theme encouraged students to discover and reflect on how rights of people have been fought for and developed throughout history; as well as who is responsible for gaining and maintaining those rights.
“We have projects that range from Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Rodney King, to Susan B. Anthony, child labor, and the Women’s American Baseball League,” Santor noted. “It’s all student driven,” Santor explained, “I just guide them with reflection questions and suggestions of resources. They make all the decisions from start to finish. I am extremely proud of their projects and their hard work.”
As a result, 15 total students went on to compete in the competition from Yolo Middle School with two exhibit boards, four individual websites, one group website, one group documentary, and one individual documentary.
At Bonita Elementary School, Mr. Freeberg’s 5th grade students caught the research bug as well. Freeberg has competed with students from his class for many years and students look forward to the opportunity to showcase their projects each year.
“I am very proud of my students. They came up with some great projects this year,” Freeberg noted.
Bonita had eight projects compete with two group podcasts, two individual posters, and four group posters, for a total of 14 students competing. On Friday students presented their projects during the school-wide assembly.
Bonita’s projects included: The Vietnam War podcast by Logan Orr and Sergio Estrada; The Irish War of Independence podcast by Stefano Castorena, Orion Carmona and Michael Lomeli; Remembering 9/11 poster by Lisa Moa and Jaxson Marshall; Equal Rights, Equal Schools: Brown v. Board of Education poster by Andie Freeberg; Gordon Parks: Focusing on Freedom poster by Chloe Macias and Amelia Davison; Julian Bond: Civil Rights Activist poster by Steve Cervantes, Trent Green, and Julian Alfaro; Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Female Doctor poster by Eva Blackwell-White; and The Mexican Revolution of 1810 poster by Ryan Gomez and Ivan Pinones.
Mr. Santor noted that one of his former students, Kelly Zapien, also competed at the high school level this year as an independent project since the high school does not have an official National History Day advisor yet.
When asked why he continues to participate each year, Santor said, “Seeing that gold medal smile after their hard work paid off makes it worth it. Even if it just inspires one student to see the value of their research potential and unlocks something within their learning journey, it’s worth it to continue.”
The top winners from each division and category will have the opportunity to represent Stanislaus County at National History Day – California on May 2-4, 2025, at California State University Sacramento.
