Congressman Jim Moran

An Adventure of the American Mind Northern Virginia Partnership (now called, Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources, TPSNVA) was formed under the leadership of Congressman James Moran to provide students in Northern Virginia with learning experiences that use Library of Congress resources to challenge their thinking. In November of 2003 the partnership began with Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, and Falls Church City Public Schools. In the spring of 2004, the Young Scholar Elementary Schools in Fairfax County joined AAMNVA. Congressman James Moran:

"Throughout its history, the Library of Congress has proven to be an invaluable resource to Members of Congress, scholars and academics. Starting with Thomas Jefferson's personal library, the Library houses the largest and best preserved collection of literature, first additions and copy right material in the world.

With the onset of the internet and the electronic media, the Library now has the opportunity to digitize its collections and share its valuable resources with the general public. I am pleased to have helped initiate a cooperative arrangement between the Library and the Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Falls Church school districts to develop K-12 curriculum incorporating the Library's vast collection of primary sources. The curriculum developed through this initiative was covered through a $8 million federal grant that will become a model for sharing the Library's collections with school systems throughout the country."

~Congressman Jim Moran (VA-08)

The TPSNVA program is a professional development program designed by school personnel in an effort to promote student learning while advancing current local school district pedagogy initiatives. Each school in the original partner school districts will have an opportunity for school-based professional development and the district department of Instruction will have opportunities for district-wide professional development.

TPSNVA program development has included bringing more than 1,000 educators from Northern Virginia to the Library of Congress for special tours of the architecture and exhibits, lectures with curators and reference specialists to develop educator content knowledge, and hands-on technology workshops focusing on integrating digital primary resources into the instructional program. Collaboration opportunities among the participants from the Northern Virginia school systems have been a highlight in the program development activities.