We are proud to offer year-round Professional Development opportunities for Virginia educators on a wide variety of topics.
Teacher Institutes are scheduled each summer and throughout the school year. Professional development presentations can be scheduled by request.
This summer, the Virginia War Memorial (VWM) will host 1 two-day and 1 three-day Teacher Institutes.
All of the VWM’s teacher programs are FREE, and open to all Virginia educators. Lunch is provided for all participants. Teachers are eligible to receive recertification points for each of these programs. All programs are in-person and will not be recorded or livestreamed.
Wednesday and Thursday, June 24 and 25, 2026
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
VWM welcomes Dustin Axe, School Programs and Curriculum Manager at American Ancestors®, to lead a two-day teacher workshop. Genealogy is a powerful lens for teaching history, culture, and geography. Learn how to go beyond family trees and help students develop critical research and thinking skills as they explore their roots and make personal connections to history. This workshop will empower teachers to integrate genealogy into their curriculum in a way that is respectful to the sensitive nature of family history.
Teachers will also hear from special guests Patrick and Carol Finnerty, whose thirteen-year journey to discover Private Oscar Hicks was featured by WTVR CBS 6 News in November 2025. Private Hicks was killed in France during World War II, and his name is etched in glass at VWM’s Shrine of Memory: 20th Century.
VWM Archivist Sylvia Marshall will share resources and highlights from the expanding collection of documents, photos, and oral histories, housed at the USS Birmingham Research Library at VWM.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, July 14, 15, and 16, 2026
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library states, “The Global War on Terror is an international, American-led military campaign launched following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” The campaign began in October 2001 with the invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and concluded in 2021 with the U. S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The campaign used military force, intelligence, and financial disruptions to eliminate violent extremist organizations and prevent future attacks on the U. S. homeland.
VWM’s “Yesterday and Tomorrow” Teacher Institute will explore the Global War on Terror twenty-five years after September 11, 2001. Learn about the experiences of veterans and experts, including Ross A. Berkoff, author of Beyond the Outpost: An Army Cavalry Officer’s War Diary on the Frontlines of Afghanistan, 2003 – 2007. Berkoff served as an Armor and Military Intelligence officer with the 10th Mountain Division and is the recipient of several commendations, including two Bronze Stars.
We will also be joined by VWM Director Dr. Clay Mountcastle, a retired United States Army officer whose military service took him to Germany, South Korea, and Iraq on assignments with the 82nd Airborne Division, the United States Army 5th Corps, and the United States Army Special Operations Command.
New Hampshire Representative Charlie Bass (R) once said, “As the war on terrorism spreads and prolongs, the fruits of ending the threat of terrorism around the world will be tempered with a whole new series of problems to be addressed and resolved.” One must wonder, with Iran being labeled the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” has the Global War on Terror been reignited?
