Trust Grant Helps Fund Trip
Parry McCluer High School’s Bill Tuning and Jan Jolley took U.S. History and Government students to visit Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown Settlement last month thanks to a grant from the American Battlefield Trust’s History Field Trip Grant Program, as well as funding from the Blues Foundation and the Natural Bridge Rotary Club.
Every year, the Battlefield Trust receives applications from classrooms across the country to participate in the History Field Trip Grant Program, which offers funding and assistance to K-12 teachers planning field trips to Civil War, War of 1812, or Revolutionary War battlefields and related historic sites. During the 2024-2025 school year, more than 12,000 students from 35 states took part.
Tuning, who teaches Social Studies at PMHS, said he came across the grant on the American Battlefield Trust website. “I used some of their resources in the classroom and saw the field trip grant program and decided to apply for it,” he said.
Tuning said he was excited to be able to take the students on the trip.
“Experiencing history outside the classroom had a huge impact on students,” he said. “Walking through reconstructed villages, seeing artifacts, and watching demonstrations helped history come to life for students and sparked a genuine interest in history.
The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today.
