Tori Davenport, a veteran social studies teacher with Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), is the Maryland Humanities state History Day State Teacher of the Year.

Also named the Charles County History Day Teacher of the Year, Davenport’s contributions to the History Day program are “invaluable,” Allen Hopkins, CCPS content specialist for social studies, said.

“She is a cornerstone of our county’s History Day program and the annual History, Industry, Technology and Science (HITS) Expo,” Hopkins said.

Davenport has spent her 24-year career teaching at John Hanson Middle School — almost all in classroom B3. She became involved in the county’s History Day program by happenstance, introduced to the program while student teaching at Mattawoman Middle School. Davenport was gaining instructional practice in the classroom of Diana Scott, a social studies teacher, when Scott brought her along to a History Day Fair that Davenport ended up judging.

The next year, after graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, Davenport began her career at Hanson. It also was the year that History Day projects were made mandatory for all sixth and seventh graders to complete. “By default, because I was the only one at the school who knew what History Day was, I became the coordinator as a first-year teacher,” she said. “I had to tell all these established teachers they had to do this project.”

This year, along with other Hanson students, Davenport’s seventh grade honors classes worked on projects. History Day project topics must relate to the program’s annual theme with this year’s being Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. Maryland Humanities releases project prompts for students to research if they don’t bring their own to the table.

“It’s a long-term research project,” Davenport said of History Day projects. “It’s a historical investigation. Students are not just spitting back facts. They have to write a thesis statement that they want to prove about their topic. Then there’s more research, making connections between their topic and bigger ideas of the time period.”

Students can present their projects in one of five formats — displayed on a project board, in a documentary, on a website they created, in an historical paper or in a performance.

The projects, which students work on usually from October to December, require using skills such as tracking down and using primary and secondary sources and determining if the sources are supportive of the thesis. “It’s really good for them to figure out what sources are reliable and useful,” Davenport said. “They can’t just use Google.”

Davenport comes from a long line of educators. Her mother was an elementary school and reading resource teacher. “Most of the females in my family taught in some way, shape or form,” she said.

As a student at Matthew Henson Middle School, Davenport was inspired to go into teaching history by her social studies teacher, the late Chet Foster. “He was pretty phenomenal,” she said. “The way he made history come alive; he was very much a storyteller. He just made it so interesting to see the connection between people, places and events. And I try to do that for my kids now.”

Hanson Principal Ben Kohlhorst called Davenport a “natural educator.”

“She has the ability to design social studies lessons that challenge, engage and support students of all levels,” he said. “Not only do students benefit from having a powerhouse for a teacher, her colleagues do as well through her dedication and innovation as an educator.”

Hopkins agreed. “Quite simply, Charles County’s History Day program would not be what it is today without her dedication and leadership,” he said.

The Maryland History Day Award Ceremony will be Saturday, May 2, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).