In March, 64 lawyers from Holland & Knight were busy poring over thousands of essays. These weren’t from legal briefings or court hearings. They were submissions from over 5,200 students who entered the 2017 Facing History Together Student Essay Contest. The global law firm’s Holocaust Remembrance Project, which is part of its charitable foundation, generously funded the contest but their lawyers also took an extra step by volunteering to review the essays.

Part of challenging our students is challenging ourselves as educators. That’s why Facing History is excited to announce the 2017 Margot Stern Strom Innovation Grants. This year, we’re challenging you to think about how you can bring “hard empathy” into the classroom. You could be one of 12 educators to receive $2,500 to bring your project to life.  

During World War II, 20,000 to 30,000 Jews fought back against the Nazis as partisans. Hidden deep in the forests, these underground communities were the heart of an organized resistance movement that took up arms against the Nazis. Around 10 percent of these partisans were women.

Although often known for their support roles—performing camp duties, providing medical care, and acting as messengers—some women also fought alongside men. As we close out Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating three Jewish women partisans whose bravery shows us the meaning of what it is to be an upstander.

Craig Silverman was studying fake news long before the world turned its attention to such a topic. In fact, he’s considered a fake news expert, now working as the media editor for BuzzFeed News. With his fingers on the pulse of a changing journalism landscape, he sees dangers and potential in the way both adults and young people absorb news and information. It’s why he’s speaking to students on March 22 for a one-hour interactive online summit, “Viral Rumors and Fact Checking,” with Facing History and Ourselves and the News Literacy Project. 

Cicada Scott, the winner of last year's Facing History Together Student Essay Contest, wrote an eloquent essay about life as a non-binary gender teen. In light of recent news about the rollback of federal protection for transgender students, Cicada's reflection on the power of understanding one's own identity is more timely than ever. Read our Q&A with Cicada and check out this year's prompt for the 2017 Facing History Together Student Essay Contest. Submissions are open until March 15. Students and teachers will have the chance to win more than $25,000 in scholarships and awards.

There’s a lot of technology out there. Much of that technology makes its way into the classroom, helping teachers bring their lessons to life and helping students learn in ways they couldn’t before. Tomorrow is Digital Learning Day, a nationwide celebration that started as a way to actively spread innovative practices and ensure that all youth have access to high-quality digital learning opportunities no matter where they live. But it’s also about how educators can learn with each other through technology.

Here are four ways you can celebrate Digital Learning Day and the role technology plays in your life.

The 2016 presidential campaign will go down as one of the most divisive in US history. Read what it was like for high school senior, Lilly Hackworth, to vote for the first time during such a contentious race and how she used Facing History and Ourselves to help her navigate such a turbulent political climate.

Make sure to sign up for Face the Future and stay tuned to hear the themes for the 2017 MSS Innovation Awards! In the meantime, take a look back at three previous award winners for inspiration!

In Emily Berman’s ninth grade biology class, social justice is a central theme. She’s part of a group of six teachers that brought an interdisciplinary approach to teaching Facing History’s “Race and Membership” unit last year at Blackstone Academy Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Summer schedules quickly fill up and before you know it, fall is here. Those workshops you planned on signing up for or those seminars you meant to attend in advance of the new school year - they might not have happened. But that's okay. Facing History and Ourselves is gearing up to offer some great professional development opportunities this fall to help educators add to their teaching toolbox, gain new perspectives, and connect with their peers about different teaching strategies.