Teacher named to Teaching Tolerance board

Walla Walla High School Social Studies teacher Michelle Higgins has been selected to serve on the advisory board for the Teaching Tolerance project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. Her two-year term begins this spring. Higgins has played a key role in the development of the Whitman Teaches the Movement program in Walla Walla which places Whitman College students in public school classrooms to enhance civil rights education.

"I am excited to help advance civil rights education opportunities in our community and across the nation," said Higgins. “The partnership we have established in Walla Walla with Whitman College is a model other school districts and colleges should consider.”

Higgins was selected among 500 applicants seeking a position on the 20 member advisory board. The two-year commitment includes providing advice and offering input on classroom activities and professional development materials and content for Teaching Tolerance magazine according to Maureen Costello, Director of Teaching Tolerance. Higgins will also be asked to evaluate story ideas and lessons, comment on published articles and review projects in development. Teaching Tolerance was founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children.