Mission

The mission of the Southern History Project is to reshape the teaching of social studies throughout the American South by engaging students in the questions of the past and the challenges of today–on a regional, national, and global level.

Our organization develops comprehensive curricula for Southern classrooms, connecting the history and challenges of the American South to those of the global South.  SHP content is informed by a team of scholars, activists, and historians, and implemented through close collaboration with our partner schools.

Traction

The Southern History Project featured on National Public Radio’s Southern Education Desk:

http://wwno.org/post/teaching-tough-topics-teaching-beyond-test

Team

Sheila Sundar, Founding Director

Sheila began her career in education in 2003 as a history teacher in the New York City Public Schools.  She is the author of “Watching the Sky: Human Rights in the 20th Century” and “War and Participation,” the curriculum guides for the documentary films Watchers of the Sky and The Recruiter.  She previously directed education programs for the Egypt office of Education for Employment, where she developed civic education programs for youth and trained educators throughout the Middle East on student-centered, participatory teaching.

She has worked in academic leadership at Firstline and Renew Schools, as well as New Orleans Charter Math and Science High School.  Sheila holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Hampshire College and a Master’s Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Board of Directors

Sharhonda Bossier

Sharhonda is the Deputy Director at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). In her current role, Sharhonda focuses on identifying, equipping, elevating and sustaining talented Black and Latino leaders to thrive in the highest-level education roles and lead a more inclusive education reform movement. Prior to joining EdLoC, Sharhonda co-founded Families for Excellent Schools and worked with education non-profit organizations at Education Cities to help them develop the skills and capacity to meaningfully engage and mobilize key stakeholders. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, Sharhonda started her career in education as a public school teacher and also brings years of legislative and electoral campaign experience in both volunteer and leadership capacities to her work.

Andrew Sullivan

Andrew is currently a fellow at Urban Leaders, with plans to work on policy aimed at helping reform our public education system to better prepare Americans for the 21st century economy.  He graduated from Yale University in 2005 with a BA in History as well as coursework in the Yale Teacher Preparation Program.  After two years as a 4th grade teacher in San Jose, CA, Andrew moved to New Orleans as a founding teacher at Langston Hughes Academy, where he taught 4th grade reading and 7th grade social studies.  He later served as AP and then Middle School Principal of the Samuel J. Green Charter School (RISE Up!).

After ten years working in schools, Andrew completed his master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.