It has been a busy year for the Social Studies Department!
We welcomed two new teachers this year: Mr. John Clark (APUSH and Global Studies) who was a recent inductee into the Teachers of Promise Institute and Dr. Tyler Goldberger (AP Psychology) who just completed his dissertation; “These memories cannot be wiped’: Remembering, Forgetting, and Silencing the Spanish Civil War and Francisco Franco’s Dictatorship in the United States, 1937-1962.”
Mr. Matthew Ruskan entered his second year as a full-time instructor. Mr. Ruskan was integral in developing and implementing the Social Studies component of the new MLWGS 101 course. He also led the 2024 Girls Tennis Team to an undefeated season and state championship.
Ms. NaKita Lee was recently announced as the 2024 REB Award Winner for Teacher Excellence which will afford her the opportunity to take a trip to Ghana, among other locales. In addition to this, she is also organizing a trip this spring to Tulsa and Oklahoma City for her Black History Seminar. Somehow, she has found the time to work on completing her National Board Certification.
Likewise, Mr. Sam Ulmschneider is working on his National Board Certification and was a recent recipient of the Graduate Alumni Achievement Award by VCU. He continues to prepare the WTP students for the state and national championships and has organized several student external activities, including field trips to Philadelphia, Montpelier, and the Valentine Museum.
Ms. Robinette Cross recently authored a book, Undaunted Compassion: Culturally Responsive Teaching for the 21st Century. In addition to this work, Robinette has just helped to establish a school in the Kingdom of Lesotho. She managed to accomplish all this while taking on new classes such as Honors US History and organizing a trip to Morocco for her MENA class.
Dr. Christine Anderson has continued to work as a mentor for our new teachers and is currently working with the VCU Clinical Faculty Training Program. Ally Lichtman, a student from her Gender, Politics, and Consumerism in a Global Context course, received recognition in the 2025 Scholastic Writing Awards for her paper “The Second-Wave Press: Raising Consciousness and Building Collective Identity in Pursuit of Social and Political Equality for Women.”
Mrs. Hana Voight completed the process of recertification as a National Board-Certified Teacher, is currently completing the VCU Clinical Faculty Training Program, and worked extensively to improve the new teacher experience at MLWGS via chairing the Teacher Mentor Subcommittee. Mrs. Voight and Ms. Lee have continued to co-sponsor the TJ History Honor Society. The society is holding a History Fair on February 6th and has had several guest speakers this year.
Mr. Kyle Rogers wrote an article entitled “Paper Trails: Runaway Slaves and Print Culture in the Virginia County Courts, 1820-1865,” which was published in the Australasian Journal of American Studies. He continues to sponsor, along with Ms. Allison Anthony, the Model UN program which received accolades at the VAMUN conference (UVA).
After a lengthy hiatus, the department was able to reintroduce our International Relations course thanks to the work of Dr. Brenda Ericson. Dr. Ericson’s course has enabled students to gain a sound foundation in contemporary events such as the crisis in the Middle East and the impact of NGO’s.
Ms. Allison Anthony continues to develop her AP Economics course by implementing innovative activities such as a simulation on international trading, the creation of Tik-Tok style videos on various economic perspectives, and several holiday-themed activities such as creating a holiday playlist as part of an exercise on learning why more holiday music isn’t created.
Collectively, the department worked to introduce two new courses for next year (AP African American Studies and Topics in Government, Policy, and Politics), to reintroduce an old course (Introduction to Modern Political Theory), and to offer a broad selection of Senior Seminars (Black Legacy/Black Lives, MENA, Military History). The department further developed a new rotation of course offerings to increase the opportunities made available to our students over the course of their four years.
“The list of individual accomplishments and activities of the department could go on for several pages,” said Mr. Dan Brown, Department Chair. “These accomplishments are the result of a dedicated staff that sacrifices a considerable amount of time into perfecting their craft to develop students who will lead, participate, and contribute in a rapidly changing global society. Those who work with them see the countless hours spent grading essays, sponsoring clubs, developing new lesson plans, collaborating and critiquing old lessons as well as organizing domestic and international field trips. It is truly awe inspiring to work around such a group of dedicated professionals.”
