The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Teacher Institute immerses Virginia elementary and secondary teachers in historical content and teaching strategies. During the program, teachers participate in hands-on learning activities and collaborate with staff and fellow teachers to create lessons they can use in the classroom for years to come.

What to expect at the Teacher Institute

During this multiday, immersive institute, teachers from around Virginia will explore the complex history of the American Revolution and founding of the United States. Participants will experience hands-on learning activities at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown in its re-created Revolution-era farm and Continental Army encampment as well as in classroom presentations. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the diverse peoples and opinions from 18th-century America and the causes and consequences of the American Revolution. Each participant also will receive a kit of reproduction teaching objects they can take back to the classroom.

Highlights include:

• A conversation-based guided tour of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown led by education staff.
• Expanded historical content on the events of early colonial Virginia through primary sources and authentic interactive learning experiences.
• Hands-on experiences of daily life for American colonists both before and during the American Revolution.
• Explore decisions made by Native Americans, free people of African descent, enslaved men, women and children, and those of European descent during the war against Britain.
• Collaborate with other Virginia teachers to develop lessons related to 18th-century life and the American Revolution.
• A resource kit to take back to the classroom along with ideas for how to use reproduction objects with your students.
• An opportunity to collaborate on classroom lessons with Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation staff and fellow teachers from across Virginia.

The 2026 Teacher Institutes will begin at 1 p.m. on the Monday of the Institute and conclude at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Participants will be actively engaged in both indoor and outdoor activities beginning at 8:30 a.m. each morning and ending between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. each night.

At the conclusion of the program, each participant will receive a certificate of participation listing the professional development hours earned during the program.

Pre-conference course work

Participants are responsible for completing 4-5 hours of online course work to prepare for the teacher institute. Each unit will consist of readings, videos and short discussion opportunities on historical content relating to the 18th century and the American Revolution. The goal is to provide the richest learning experience possible and assure all participants begin with a shared baseline of knowledge. This work is included in the total 45 contact hours awarded at the end of the institute. All content will be posted in late spring to allow plenty of time for completion prior to your arrival at the institute.

Free for elementary and secondary (K-12) Virginia teachers

The teacher institute is free for Virginia teachers, thanks to generous support by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund, the Abbitt Family Foundation, the Charles S. and Millicent P. Brown Family Foundation, Audrael and John Chiricotti, Randy and Shelby Hawthorne, and Wilma and Marc Sharp.

Donor funding covers:
• Meals
• Accommodations
• A stipend to cover travel expenses

2026 application information

Submit your application by 9 a.m. on April 13, 2026.

 Each applicant must have an administrator or supervisor recommendation submitted before April 15 to be considered. A link for administrator recommendations will be sent to the applicant within two weeks of application submission.

Participants are selected through a competitive process and participation is limited.

Reflections on the 2024 Teacher Institute

View participant experiences from the teacher institute for secondary teachers in 2024.