SED helps assemble teaching resources for 250th anniversary of independence


On Board Online • April 6, 2026

By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent

State agencies are making a variety of teaching resources available to New York schools and students related to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Officials from the State Education Department (SED) provided an overview of efforts to mark the anniversary at the Board of Regents' March meeting. Speakers said they hope schools will ensure that students understand what events and values led to the Declaration of Independence as well as share inspiring stories of what officials call, "the unfinished revolution."

“This work is not just about the past - it’s about the present and the future,” said David Frank, assistant commissioner in the Office of Education Policy. “A lot of this work is, ‘How can we learn from this moment 250 years ago and then the struggle over the next 250 years to enfranchise every New Yorker in the ideals of our founding generation, the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?’”

In 2021, the Legislature created the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission to promote public engagement and illuminate New York's pivotal role in the American Revolution, civil rights and the broader history of liberty and freedom. Lead agencies are SED and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

A 31-page guide available on SED's website suggests specific activities and lessons, such as asking students to build character profiles for Patriot and Loyalist citizens, then write journal entries from each perspective. The guide also calls for students to learn about "forgotten heroes" including women, Indigenous leaders and African Americans who played crucial roles in the Revolution.

The guide encourages visits to sites including:

  • The New York State Museum in Albany to explore exhibits on civil rights, suffrage, labor reform and press freedom.
  • Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, the only New York State Historic Site dedicated to a Native American theme and home to a full-size Seneca Bark Longhouse.
  • The Human Rights Institute at Binghamton University, which has a team using advanced data analytics to analyze trends in human rights issues.

Every county in New York has received state funding to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, so there should be local events, as well.

Web resources include the New York State Library's "NYS Personal History Initiative" at www.nyspersonalhistory.com .

Another free resource for teaching about the American Revolution is considerthesourceny.org, an educational platform created by state archivists that connects users to primary sources from churches, museums, historical organizations and more. The State Library's New York at 250 webpage connects educators with materials focused on the themes of the American Revolution; visitors can browse historical records, access learning activities and find literature and primary sources.

Frank said that SED is working closely to integrate two agency initiatives, NY Inspires, which overhauls graduation requirements, and the Portrait of a Graduate, a vision of what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate, into the work local partners are doing to commemorate the 250th.

Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said she and other commission members have discussed commemoration activities with superintendents and principals across the state.

"We're really making sure there's a connection to the classroom," Rosa said. "I don't think we engage in any kind of activity without thinking about it from an instructional educational perspective."




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