Donna Morin, a Social Studies teacher at Alvirne High School, recently received a $5,000 Teaching America250 Award from the Jack Miller Center. Courtesy photo/Hudson School District

HUDSON – Since coming to Alvirne High School eight years ago, Social Studies teacher Donna Morin found it difficult to take her students on meaningful field trips without having to ask them for a hefty fee.

However, that recently changed when Morin was selected as one of 51 teachers nationwide to receive a $5,000 Teaching America250 Award from the Jack Miller Center in Pennsylvania.

The grant was certainly an unexpected surprise.

“I thought this was going to be extraordinarily difficult to win,” she said.

The grants were awarded in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“I love the Declaration of Independence,” said Morin. “It’s such an important document, it was a big step forward.”

As part of her law class, in March, Morin and her students will travel to Concord to meet with federal Judge Landya McCafferty, who will preside over a simulated hearing. That trip is being funded by the New Hampshire Bar Association.

With the Teaching America250 money, Morin is planning to take her students to Boston’s Freedom Trail this fall, which will coincide with a new class, NH Constitution.

“The Teaching America250 Award winners are introducing the next generation to the essential ideas, stories and documents of America’s civic tradition,” said Hans Zeiger, president of the Jack Miller Center. “Through their projects, these amazing educators will make America’s 250th birthday a memorable experience for thousands of students across the country.”

The grant money will also be used to create a project that “engages students with the history of America’s founding and the ideals of the Declaration.” Project winners will be invited to attend the Jack Miller Center’s National Summit on Civic Education or the Civic Learning Week National Forum, hosted by iCivics and the Democratic Knowledge Project.

In addition to the Teaching America250 Award, Morin was named Civics Educator of the Year in June 2025. Last March, she was one of three educators chosen from across the country to create a lesson plan for the documentary series, the Constitution Project, sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center in Philadelphia.