Wednesday, July 15th, 2026 | 10am - 4pm
Governor Charles B. Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site
264 Governor Aycock Rd NE, Fremont, NC, 27830

REGISTRATION CLOSES ON FRIDAY, JUNE 26th
 

Register Here:  https://forms.gle/LzLg9sMdh3VYUXhP6

Attending teachers will receive $100 stipend + Lunch + .5 CEUs

Join the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) for a special professional development workshop for educators at the Governor Charles B. Aycock Birthplace.

Charles B. Aycock, North Carolina’s 50th governor from 1901-1905, is often remembered as the “Education Governor” for his early 20th-century advocacy for expanding public schooling. His administration promoted increased school funding, longer academic terms, and improved facilities. Yet Aycock was also a central architect of Jim Crow policies, and the reforms he championed strengthened a segregated system that disproportionately benefited white communities. These decisions shaped the trajectory of public education in North Carolina for decades, influencing inequities that continued well into the mid‑20th century desegregation era following Brown v. Board.

Middle and high school teachers are invited to explore this history at the Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site in Fremont, a site offering a powerful opportunity to explore this complex legacy through place‑based learning. The preserved homestead grounds help illuminate the world in which Aycock was raised and provide an authentic environment for examining how his background, values, and political choices influenced the development of North Carolina’s segregated school system. With a focus on primary sources, critical thinking activities, and place-based learning, teachers will spend the day engaging with real stories in real spaces, gaining strategies that build empathy and help students understand how decisions made in earlier eras still shape their communities today.

Attending educators will receive:

• $100 stipend
• .5 CEUs
• A private tour of the site and a preview of new and revised activities for middle and high school field trips to the site
• Primary source activities that foster critical thinking and historical empathy as students explore the struggles and triumphs of school desegregation.

Who is eligible to apply?

Any K-12 teacher is eligible to apply. (Make sure your distance from the historic site allows you to comfortably arrive by 10 am.) Don’t miss the opportunity to experience what Aycock Birthplace has to offer, while also enjoying food and fellowship with amazing teaching colleagues from across the region!

Please note that late arrivals and early departures cannot be accommodated. Before submitting an application, please check your schedule to ensure you can arrive by 10:00am and that you are able to stay until 4:00pm

Space is limited to 20 registrants; filling out this form does not guarantee your registration. Participants will be registered based on a combination of ensuring a diversity of schools and grade levels represented; the order in which your application was received per school; and your application responses and completeness. You should receive a response to your application no later than July 1st. If after July 1^styou have not received a response and a message is not in your junk/spam folder, please contact us at educationoutreach@dncr.nc.gov.

CANCELLATION POLICY
DNCR is committed to providing free professional development to teachers, with not even a small fee or deposit required. However, these programs are costly to the organizers/funders. Thus, if you receive a space in this event and you find that you need to cancel at any point, it is critical to let us know immediately and no later than five days before the event by e-mailing educationoutreach@dncr.nc.gov. Last minute cancellations and "no-shows" with no communication result in waste of budget, food, materials, etc., and prevents wait listed teachers from participating. Except in the case of an emergency, if a registered teacher does not show up or communicate no longer being able to attend, your school may be billed for a $75 no-show fee.

Questions?

Contact us at educationoutreach@dncr.nc.gov

Register Here:  https://forms.gle/LzLg9sMdh3VYUXhP6

This professional development activity is part of the Empowering Teacher Educators with Primary Sources program, supported by Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University through the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program.