16th Annual Teacher Institute
July & August 2025 | Free
Join Library of Virginia staff members and guest speakers in this year’s two-day teacher institute. The 16th annual Brown Teacher Institute will focus on research and projects that explore the history of Black Virginians in Richmond’s Jackson Ward district in support of the Library’s forthcoming exhibition, “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History” (July 14, 2025-–Feb. 28, 2026). “House to Highway” explores the story of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, the first Black homeowner in the area that would be known as Jackson Ward after the Civil War, and the subsequent removal of his house in advance of the construction of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, to anchor a larger national story of the Black American experience and the founding of the nation through the Jim Crow era. Moreover, the exhibition illuminates the present-day restorative justice movement in Jackson Ward and how the community’s story and legacy can be found in other Black American communities across the nation, including Bronzeville in Chicago; Hayti in Durham, North Carolina; Sweet Auburn in Atlanta; West Ninth Street in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi. The institute will offer tools, resources and content to aid educators in teaching this history in the classroom. Teachers will explore how to use primary sources to enhance student learning and discover new digital resources.
This year’s institutes are in-person.
The Library will host the 16th annual Brown Teacher Institute (summer 2025) in four of the eight superintendent’s regions, and will give preference to attendees from regions two, three, five and seven.
Institute dates and registration information coming soon.
Teachers must attend the entire institute to receive a professional development certificate. Participants will receive a $300 stipend.
A detailed schedule will be announced soon. Contact Anne McCrery at anne.mccrery@lva.virginia.gov or Catherine Fitzgerald Wyatt at catherine.fitzgeraldwyatt@lva.virginia.gov with any questions.
For the most up-to-date programming, please check our Events Calendar at lva.virginia.gov/eventscalendar and follow us on social media.
Visit https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/at-home-learning/ for a selection of helpful digital resources.
The 2025 Brown Teacher Institute is made possible in part by
Virginia Humanities.
