First Lady in Town To Honor History Teacher

The first lady will present the Preserve America National History Teacher of the Year award to an elementary school teacher from Stafford, Conn., Maureen Festi.

The ceremony is being held Friday morning at the Museum of the City of New York.

A spokeswoman for Mrs. Bush, Sally McDonough, said the first lady, who is a former teacher and librarian, is committed to ensuring that children receive a quality education in all subjects.

"Mrs. Bush is pleased to recognize the accomplishments of Maureen Festi, who has proven to the judges that she has found dozens of ways to make history come alive for all of her fifth grade students," Ms. McDonough said.

With nearly 30 years' experience, Ms. Festi has worked extensively to research and locate many primary source documents dating to the Revolutionary War, which she uses in lessons for her students.

She was also named this year's Connecticut History Teacher of the Year.

The award, in its fourth year, is presented jointly by Preserve America, a federal initiative to protect the country's natural and historical resources of which Mrs. Bush is the honorary chairwoman, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a nonprofit organization that promotes American history education.

The president of the Stafford Education Association, JoAnn Losee, said Ms. Festi is extremely creative and dedicated to her students. "She really draws her kids into wanting to learn and wanting to research things, and learn more about their world," Ms. Losee said.