
Chants of “dump the tea into the sea” echoed down the halls as Boston’s Eliot K8 Innovation School’s fifth grade students took on roles during their Freedom Trail® Foundation Scholars Program visit on Tuesday, March 7 at 11:15 a.m. at 16 Charter Street. Presented by the Freedom Trail Foundation, this interactive history program helps educate students throughout Massachusetts.
Now in its 11th season, the Scholars Program brings the spirit and fervor of the American Revolution in Boston to life for Massachusetts students. Two presenters take on multiple roles to bring our nation’s historic fight for freedom into schools in this one-hour traveling interactive class. Since the Program’s inception, over 36,000 students have seen and been involved in the program: interacting with the performers, reading portions of important documents and declarations, and reenacting historic events. Educators are provided with the Scholars Program resource guide, including lesson plans and quizzes to help evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

“The Freedom Trail Foundation program was perfect! The creative glimpse of the past provided my students with the big ideas surrounding the causes of the Revolutionary War and cleared up misconceptions about the ride of Paul Revere,” said Helen Rock, fifth grade teacher at Morris Elementary School in Lenox.

The Scholars Program will make many exciting visits during the 2016–2017 school year with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Distrigas of Massachusetts, which supports visits to Everett Public Schools, Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, and in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administrated by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. Organizations and companies are encouraged to sponsor Scholars Program visits to schools in the communities they serve.
For additional information regarding school visits and community support for the program, please contact the Freedom Trail Foundation at (617) 357–8300, extension 203, or via e-mail at aadgate@thefreedomtrail.org.