Now Available
The 2026 Yale and Slavery Teachers Institute (YSTI) application is now open.
We invite K-12 teachers all of disciplines to join us for our 2026 summer institute on Indigenous New England. Through a series of workshops, land-based learning experiences and conversations with community partners, participants will be able to think about the ways in which Indigenous knowledge, histories and lifeways can impact teaching practice. The goal of the summer will be for teachers to work collaboratively to create an interdisciplinary unit that incorporates the institute's sessions.
About the Yale and Slavery Teachers Institute
Yale launched a four-year teachers' institute in July 2025 to foster innovation in the ways regional history is taught.
This program will help K-12 teachers in New England meet new state mandates for incorporating Black and Indigenous history into their curricula. Each year, a cohort of teachers will engage with partners within and outside of the university community to study content and methods related to a particular theme, using the book Yale and Slavery: A History as a springboard. The first year of the program will focus on Teaching Slavery in New England, followed by Indigenous history, slavery in the north, and Reconstruction and the Black freedom struggle.
Led by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at the Yale MacMillan Center, the program will provide a platform for teachers in New England to co-develop curricular materials, in collaboration with scholars, public historians, Native communities, and other groups. The pedagogical materials and methods created through the program will be disseminated broadly for the benefit of students, educators, and the general public throughout the region.
For more information, contact daisha.brabham@yale.edu
A Look Back at YSTI 25
2025 YSTI Summer Lesson Plan Collection
As you consider applying for YSTI 2026, we invite you to explore the impressive lesson and unit plans developed by the dedicated educators from our inaugural 2025 cohort.
Last year’s program, centered on Teaching Slavery in New England, provided K–12 educators with a profound understanding of the region’s history of enslavement through site visits to Rhode Island and Connecticut, workshops led by experts, and access to valuable local resources.
Participants had the unique opportunity to revise their lesson plans, incorporating the deep contextual knowledge they gained. The resulting lessons, spanning various grade levels and subjects, challenge students to think critically about the legacies of slavery and the individuals who shaped New England’s history.
By delving into these lessons, you can see firsthand the impact of the YSTI experience. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find highlights of educators bringing these lessons to life, along with reflections on how this professional development opportunity has enriched their teaching practices.
We encourage you to apply to YSTI 2026 and join us in this important journey of education and transformation.
