2 Colo. teachers named Holocaust Museum fellows

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two Colorado teachers finished up a week-long fellowship program at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Saturday.

Barbara Figg, a history and government teacher at Mullen High School in Denver, and Jennifer Derosby, a language arts teacher at PSI Charter Middle School in Denver, were among 14 fellows selected in 2008.

Derosby told 9NEWS that last year she and her students staged a production based on a book called Salvaged Pages, which is an anthology of diaries written by young people. Derosby says the students will continue to perform it this year.

Figg has been teaching about the Holocaust for more than 30 years. She told 9NEWS that after attending the fellowship program, she developed a cleared picture of the road educators played in the Third Reich and the role she wants to play in Holocaust education.

"Working with the author, Alexandra Zapudor, and other Museum Teacher Fellows, I have new ideas of how to use literature to enhance a student's historical understanding of the Shoah in my classroom and with my fellow teachers at Mullen. The opportunity to work with the experts at the USHMM in the archives, research department, Survivors Registry, Committee on Conscience, and the technology department have opened up a wealth of information that I hope to share with other educators in my state," said Figg.

Derosby says she also wants to take what she learned in D.C. and connect with other teachers.

"Apart from bringing it to my classroom and my teaching, I want to increase the diversity of teachers who teach this material. By diversity I mean, build connections with teachers of color and work on creating curricula that uses Holocaust teaching and how it overlays with other content and perspectives," Derosby said.

Figg adds that she wants to share USHMM documents and photos and form an international partnership with professors and teachers.

"Through my present work with the Ghetto Fighter's International Book Sharing Program, I want to link my students who have Israeli partners in Denver's sister city in Israel to expand their knowledge of the Holocaust through the use of USHMM primary sources as well," Figg said.

The Museum Teacher Fellowship Program trains and maintains a corps of skilled secondary school teachers who serve as leaders in Holocaust education both locally and nationally.

"It's been great to be surrounded by teachers who are passionate about this kind of work," said Derosby.

The program was established in 1996. With the 2008 class of 14, there are now 246 Museum Teacher Fellows in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Figg, Derosby and the other fellows will attend a three-day, follow-up program in July 2009.