DEBRA BLOCK

857-919-9196

EDUCATIONPh.D.United States History, University of Pennsylvania, 1997

Specialization in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Social History.

Dissertation: Virtue Out of Necessity: A Study of Jewish

Philanthropy in the United States, 1885-1918"

M.A.Special Education: Learning Disabilities, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1982

A.B. History, Brown University, 1980

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2001-PresentEducational Consultant (Representative Sample)

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

  • Editor, Arts Model Curriculum Units. MA Department of Education
  • Content Creation, iPhone Application for AP US History Exam, Zinkerz, Cambridge, MA
  • For materials that use Common Core and Massachusetts Standards, please see my website,

Matters of Education,

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

  • Evaluate SEI program for MA Department of Education
  • Panel to Review and Revise MA History and Social Science Standards, MA DESE

EXHIBITION SUPPORT

  • Educational materials and grant support for Old State House Museum, Mapping Revolutionary Boston,

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATORS

  • Writing To Text PD Materials, MA Department of Education
  • Content creation for Simulation: Difficult Conversations: RACE, Ed Leadership Sims
  • Building Aligned Curriculum Project, MA Department of Education
  • ELA Instructional Coach, BetterLesson, NEA Master Teacher Project, Cambridge, MA
  • Teachers21, Educational Consultant, Conduct educator workshops and graduate courses on

Assessment, Curriculum Development, Critical Thinking, and Instructional Practice

  • Summer Professional Development Institutes for MA Department of Education on Teaching Complex Historical Texts and Literacy
  • Induction Coach, Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, Brandeis University
  • Created Trainer Curriculum for School Leadership Workshops for PEAR, Program for Education, Afterschool and Resiliency, Harvard Medical School

2010-2012Consultant, Center for Historic American Visual Culture at the American Antiquarian Society

Delivered lectures, trained educators and supported curriculum development

2004-2012Director of Education, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

[NB: this was a consultancy, approximately 60 hours per month]

  • Maps in the News: Research and write articles, select maps and create relevant educational materials,
  • Teacher Resources: create materials and provide outreach and ongoing support for educators
  • Maps in the Classroom: Plan and implement on-site use of maps in K-12 classrooms
  • Professional Development for Educators: Plan and implement workshops for K-12 teachers, including partnerships with Lesley University, MA Geography Alliance, and National Archives
  • Exhibition support: write and edit articles for catalog; write and edit exhibit captions, create materials for teachers and students before, during and after tours; write Curriculum Guides; select and train tour guides; create family activities for self-guided tours:

Faces and Places (2004),Journeys of the Imagination (2006), Boston and Beyond (2008);

Torn in Two: The American Civil War (2011); and America Votes (2012)

1995-2006Maimonides School, Brookline, MA

Chair, Middle and High School History Department

  • Developed and guided Social Studies curriculum and education for Grades 7-12
  • Supervised work of eight member department, including hiring and mentoring new teachers
  • Orchestrated complete revision of history curriculum in Grades 7-12
  • Designed and Taught Junior Survey and AP Courses in United States History
  • Designed and Taught Junior Survey and Honors Literature Courses (1995-2000)

1988-1990 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Teaching Assistant, Department of History

  • Survey U.S. History, 1865-Present, Spring Semesters, 1989 and 1990
  • Twentieth Century U.S. Political History, Fall Semesters, 1988 and 1989

1982-1988 The Dalton School, New York City, NY

History Teacher, Grades 8-12

  • Survey Non-Western Civilization
  • Survey European History, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century

Additional Responsibilities

  • Advisor to Eighth grade students
  • Learning Specialist, Grades 4-12
  • Coordinator of all non-academic activities for Eighth grade
  • Admissions Interviewer
  • Yearbook Advisor
  • Faculty Union, Executive Board
  • Reading and Math Teacher, Grade 4 (1982-1985)

1982-1984 Horace Mann-Barnard School, Bronx, New York

Summer SessionsEnglish and Study Skills Teacher, Grades 7-12

1981-1982 Learning Disabilities Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University

Research Assistant and Educational Assessment Team Member

1980 Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Teaching Assistant, Department of Engineering

FELLOWSHIPS

AND AWARDSGrenzenbach Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation, presented by the Council for the Advancement and Study of Education (CASE), July 1999

Andrew W. Mellon Dissertation Fellowship, 1993-1994

Pomfret Dissertation Fellowship, 1992-1993

Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching, University of Pennsylvania, 1990

University of Pennsylvania, Department of History Fellowship, 1988-1991

YIVO Institute Grant for Summer Study, 1989

PUBLICATIONS

Kehillath Israel: The First Hundred Years.

Brookline, Congregation Kehillath Israel, 2016.

Torn in Two: The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.

Boston, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, 2011.

“Time Shifts: A Changing America, 1850-1900” in Boston and Beyond: A Bird’s Eye View of New England.

Boston, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, 2008.

Maps in the News (a series of on-line publications) Boston: Boston Public Library, 2005-2009

New Orleans, 2005,

Iraq, 2007,

Bolivia, 2008,

China, 2008,

Darfur, 2009,

REFERENCES

Annie Davis, Former Director of Education, National Archives, Waltham,

Ronald Grim, Curator, Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library,

Walter Licht, Professor, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania,

Roni Pick, Founding Director, Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library,

Jonathan Sarna, Professor, Near East and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University,