Maraschiello said up until 1997 Hamilton history was taught as part of the 7th grade Ohio History curriculum but was shifted to a “much abbreviated form to 4th grade in the late 90′s.
With the city undergoing an economic and cultural revitalization in recent years, the just-started school year was a good time to also revive youth learning about Hamilton, he said.
“Hamilton is experiencing a modern-day gold rush. The very visible changes are just the beginning of what is going to happen here. I want this class to inform and inspire and become a training ground for the future leaders of Hamilton. We want our students to stay in Hamilton and to make it a better place.
“This semester elective class will explore not just the political history of Hamilton, but also the culture, arts, industry, government, local business, education, current events, and importantly the 17 Neighborhoods of the city,” said Maraschiello.
The course, which he said was developed with assistance from Brad Spurlock at Lane Library, Kathy Creighton of the Butler County Historical Society and others, “will engage students with leaders from the various sectors of city life including city government, fine arts, parks, education, industry, law enforcement, fire department, infrastructure, and local business leaders.”
“The students in the course will be partners in the 17Strong neighborhood initiative. There will also be two city-wide field trips. The class will be project-based with weekly local news summaries, neighborhood map projects, a biography research essay first quarter and a community capstone project based on student interest in the second quarter.”
Ty Smallwood, principal of the Hamilton Freshmen School, said the ninth grade is the perfect place to offer the elective course to city school students since all students in the 9,000-student district attend there first as they later advance into the secondary grades.
“The Hamilton High School Freshman Campus represents the first time the entire Hamilton City School’s students in the community come together under one roof,” said Smallwood.
“We look at this (history program) as a tremendous opportunity to unite our students as one Hamilton.
“Teacher and local historian Chris Maraschiello pitched us the idea to teach students the history of their community in a course titled ‘History of Hamilton’(which) provides students an elective credit in their first year of high school,” said Smallwood.
“Mr. Maraschiello will have regular guest speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds – including city leaders, neighborhood champions, non-profit coordinators, and more - to connect students to their community in a unique way.”
Smallwood said the hope for new history program is it will build “unity and ignite a flame for students to take ownership of our community’s future.”
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