MACOMB - The desire of regional teachers to bring history alive got a boost Wednesday with the announcement of a $918,600 federal grant to help them further their education and travels.

U.S. Department of Education representative Kristine Cohn was in Macomb to award the grant and tour local classrooms to see the fruits of two similar grants.

The award was announced at the Hancock/McDonough Regional Office of Education, the grant recipient.

"When you talk about the U.S. Department of Education, much of the focus is in core curriculum areas of reading and math," Cohn said. "History, science and arts are also core areas."

The Teaching U.S. History grant pays for travel and educational expenses for about 30 teachers in 21 area counties.

The first grant received by the local ROE was for in-service training, while the second, which ends this summer, is also a travel grant.

In June, 28 teachers will travel to New York as part of the second grant. The new grant provides in-service training as well as money for trips to New Orleans and Boston.

Previous trips to California and Washington, D.C., were funded by the grant.

On Wednesday morning, ROWVA Junior High School teacher Chris Johnson, showed local leaders one of the lessons he's derived from the travel. He discussed the lesson plans the teachers write and how they're formulated into teaching materials that can be used by other teachers in the region.

Johnson said the travel gives teachers an "ownership" of the material and allows teachers in smaller school districts to develop a network of others they can draw from.

"I'm a better teacher today than before I started these trips," he said. "But I can help others become better, too."

The Hancock/McDonough ROE is one of 121 grant recipients of $114.7 million nationwide and one of five in Illinois. The grant is for three years with the possibility of expanding it by two more.

Jodi Pospeschil can be reached at 686-3041 or state@pjstar.com.