Name: Pathways to Freedom
Start: 2026-08-10T09:00:00-0400
End: 2026-08-10T15:30:00-0400
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon

Schedule

8:30 a.m.	Check In
9 a.m.	Introduction Kathleen Flynn Neumann and Sachika Ghosh
9:15 a.m.	George Washington's Leadership
10 a.m.	Break
10:15 a.m.	The Idea of Commemoration Kathleen Flynn Neumann and Hannah McLain
10:45 a.m.	Exploration of Maine Historical Society - Pathways to Freedom: Maine Stories of the American Revolution
11:15 a.m.	Reflection
11:30 a.m.	Tour of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House
12 p.m.	Lunch
1 p.m.	Session Libby Bischof
2 p.m.	Break
2:15 p.m.	Resources and Workshop - Bringing it Back to the Classroom Hannah McLain and Sachika Ghosh
3 p.m.	Wrap up and Next Steps Sachika Ghosh

Optional Activity- Join us for a History Happy Hour to relax, enjoy some refreshments, and continue our discussions in a more informal setting at Austin St. Brewing!

Registration Requirements

Who can register?

Teachers MUST teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting.
The program is limited to 40 teachers.
A waitlist will be available if registration meets full capacity.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]

Meet the Scholar

Libby Bischof

Libby Bischof is a Professor of History at the University of Southern Maine and Executive Director of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education. She is the co-author of the 2015 book Maine Photography: A History, 1840-2015.

In 2011, she co-curated the exhibition Maine Moderns: Art in Sequinland, 1900-1940 at the Portland Museum of Art with Senior Curator Susan Danly. The show won the Critics’ Choice award for best Historic Show in the 2011 New England Art Awards. Prof.

Bischof has received fellowship support for her research and publications from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Research Center for American Modernism, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, the Center for Creative Photography, the Peter E. Palmquist Foundation for Historical Photographic Research, and the Maine Women Writers Collection.

In addition to her teaching and research interests, Professor Bischof enjoys working with local K-12 teachers and students and frequently collaborates with the Maine Humanities Council.

Meet the Educators

Sachika Ghosh

Sachika Ghosh is the Lead Specialist for Student Learning at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. As a museum educator with a passion for making history accessible and engaging for everyone, she designs, leads, and manages the K-12 Education department’s signature student programs and initiatives.

Prior to joining Mount Vernon in 2023, Sachika worked as a researcher, educator, and heritage consultant in India and holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Calcutta, India. When she’s not at work, she can usually be found reading, exploring new museums and historic sites, or simply relaxing with her husband and their cat at home.

Kathleen Neumann

Kathleen Flynn Neumann is Curator of Education & Public Programs for Maine Historical Society. Formerly, Kathleen taught middle and high school Social Studies in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

She worked seasonally as a Park Guide at Adams National Historical Park, in addition to spending one summer as the Assistant Tutor to the Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship Program and two summers as a Mystic Seaport for Educators Fellow.

She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in History, with a certificate in Public History, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Hannah McLain

Hannah McLain is the Museum Education and Outreach Coordinator for Maine Historical Society. At MHS her primary responsibilities include facilitating field trips, visiting classrooms, designing lesson plans, and leading educational tours.

Hannah has worked with thousands of students, using her passion and creativity to bring history to life and engage learners of all ages. Prior to joining MHS Hannah worked as the Curatorial Intern for the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and as the Gallery Fellow at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery.

Hannah earned a B.A. from College of the Holy Cross in 2018 with a double major in Anthropology and Art History.