KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Peaches Hash, Dobyns-Bennett High School English teacher, was recently selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool and will attend one of twenty-six seminars and institutes supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities federal agency.

Hash will participate in an institute entitled “Scholarship and Performance: A Combined Approach to Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays.” The two-week program will be held at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, NY and directed by Katie Miller.

“Ms. Hash brings a unique skill set to her students and has a true passion for the teaching of Shakespeare,” said Dobyns-Bennett Assistant Principal Beth Cohen. “This incredible opportunity will afford her the chance to collaborate with a variety of professionals from across the nation in a rich immersion of Shakespeare’s works.”

Hash has been a KCS employee since August 2012. At Dobyns-Bennett she teaches English 9 Pre-AP and English 10 College Prep. She has also taught English 9 College Prep, English 10 Pre-AP, and English 12 College Prep. She was a Teacher Leader through TNCore for the 2014-2015 school year and is currently the team PLC leader for English 9 Pre-AP. Prior to her work at KCS, Hash was an Appalachian State University (ASU) graduate teaching assistant and employed as an instructor for two sections of Freshman Composition at ASU.

The twenty-five teachers selected to participate in the program each received a stipend of $2,100 to cover their travel, study and living expenses.  Approximately 544 NEH Summer Scholars who participate in these programs of study will teach almost 68,000 American students the following year. 

"The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life," stated by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, 1965, as amended.

Hash earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in English, Secondary Education and minor in Psychology, from Emory & Henry College and a Master of Arts degree, with a major in English, Community College Teaching from Appalachian State University. She is currently an Education Specialist Degree candidate, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction at Lincoln Memorial University, with a graduation date in July 2016.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest providers of funds for humanities programs in the United States. For more information about NEH, visit neh.gov.

Kingsport City Schools (KCS) is a public school district located in Kingsport, Tenn., serving students in Sullivan and Hawkins county. The district is comprised of 13 schools, including a Pre-K, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and a non-traditional school; with total enrollment over 7,100 students. The vision of Kingsport City Schools is to be, Student Focused … World Class.

KCS has been named the top school district in Tennessee as winner of the 2014 SCORE Prize District Award by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and has earned the 2014 Achievement Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee Recognition Program by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNPCE).

For more information on KCS, visit k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, read our blog, We Are KCS, or call (423) 378.2100. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook (Kingsport City Schools), Twitter (@KCS_District) and check out our YouTube Channel (KPTSchools).

####