Thursday, October 1, 2026
Uniondale educators recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to share expertise and bring back new resources for their classrooms.
David Hollander, the Uniondale School District’s director of social studies, joined Uniondale High School teacher Sanjay Singh and Lawrence Road Middle School teacher Claudine DeRouen at two national events: the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) network meeting and the 105th National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Conference.
The back-to-back gatherings brought together thousands of educators, historians and education organizations to discuss best practices and new tools for social studies instruction.
“Our approach is really utilizing these primary sources to teach historical thinking, literacy and reading and writing,” Hollander said. Teachers also shared strategies on how to adapt lessons for different classrooms.
At the Library of Congress meeting, educators explored ways to build historical thinking through primary source documents. The Uniondale team presented four learning arcs — instructional units designed to develop analytical and writing skills — focused on Reconstruction, immigration, the civil rights movement and the Great Depression.
DeRouen said the arcs help align instruction across Turtle Hook and Lawrence Road middle schools so students receive the same skills-based learning regardless of classroom.
“Every eighth grader completes the same writing assessment,” she said. “That helps us see where students need support — and what skills are already strong.”
Known as the TPS Consortium, the network reaches tens of thousands of students each year with lessons designed to strengthen critical thinking, historical inquiry and civic literacy.
The team also connected with organizations such as the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the Digital Inquiry Group and New Visions for Public Schools, which provide materials aligned with New York State social studies standards and Regents exams.
Singh, who teaches AP Government, said even informal conversations had an immediate impact.
“One of the presenters gave me a case study about an Indian-American plaintiff that I’d never heard of,” he said. “It’s such a powerful way to show students — especially South Asian students — someone who looks like them in a real legal case. That kind of representation really matters.”
In addition to presenting curriculum, the educators attended keynote sessions, including speeches by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
“To actually see Justice Jackson speak — someone we talk about in class every year — was incredible,” Singh said. “That kind of access is so rare, and I’m excited to bring her story back to the classroom.”
Hollander said the session was inspiring.
“The first Black woman to be on the court and her experience and connection with social studies was an inspiration,” he said.
DeRouen said Jackson’s remarks stood out.
“She shared a story about her daughter writing to President Obama to nominate her to the Supreme Court,” she said. “To go from that letter to becoming the first Black woman on the bench — it was such a powerful reminder of why representation and civic engagement matter.”
The conferences were supported through a Library of Congress grant focused on professional development around primary sources in K–12 classrooms. Uniondale’s social studies department is now designing lessons that challenge students to analyze historic texts, photos and political cartoons and write evidence-based responses.
“Our job is not to teach students what to think,” Hollander said. “It’s to teach them how to think — how to analyze sources, consider multiple perspectives and form arguments based on evidence.”
The team is already sharing strategies from the conferences through department meetings and collaborative planning.
“We’re excited to implement these strategies across the district,” Hollander said. “We have incredible teachers in Uniondale — and we want to keep building on that momentum.”
