Rachel Morrison

Some students choose Rachel Morrison’s U.S. history class because they want to get to know a veteran. Through the GHS Veterans Project, which she founded and directs at Goochland High School, her 11th graders interview local veterans and build friendships that can last long after the course ends.

Students record military histories, visit memorials with veterans, and write the biographies that are read aloud when veterans are honored at home football games. Two former students stayed close to their veterans and later joined him on the field when the school recognized his service.

Students help run the project, too. Senior interns organize events, speak to community groups, and interview applicants who hope to take their places the following year. History doesn’t have to be their favorite subject. Some plan to study entirely different fields, but they return because they believe in the project and care about the veterans.

“There is nothing isolated in history,” Morrison says. In her standard, Honors, AP, and Dual-Enrollment classes, students examine where the country has met or fallen short of its ideals. They read primary sources to understand what people knew at the time and why they made particular decisions. Morrison expects students to support their arguments with evidence and practice disagreeing respectfully.