Folger Shakespeare Library Welcomes Twenty-Five School Teachers from Across the United States for Teaching Shakespeare Institute

(Washington, DC)—The Folger Shakespeare Library congratulates the 25 middle and high school teachers who participated in the Folger’s 19th Teaching Shakespeare Institute (TSI)—an intensive, hands-on, three-week course for secondary school English teachers—from June 28-July 17, 2026, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in the nation’s capital.

“This is my first Teaching Shakespeare Institute, and I have been blown away by the power of this longstanding Folger Education program,” shared David Kilpatrick, Director of Learning and Education Programs at the Folger. “TSI gives teachers extraordinary opportunities to deepen their classroom practice and the chance to be learners themselves—to engage deeply with scholarship, performance, collections, and one another. Most of all, I have been moved by the community that forms here, led by the care and expertise of our extraordinary faculty and staff and embraced by the teachers who come together to collaborate on three intensive weeks of learning.”

For more than four decades, the Folger has invited teachers nationwide to apply for the Teaching Shakespeare Institute, which combines the best of scholarship, performance, and classroom pedagogy. The 2026 program continued this tradition, bringing participants into conversation at the Folger Shakespeare Library for an exploration of two of Shakespeare’s tragedies: Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra. 

During the three weeks of TSI, participants engaged with the Folger’s unparalleled collection of Shakespeare materials and documents, manuscripts, and books from the early modern era; attended seminars and workshops with leading scholars, mentor teachers, and Folger staff; and developed their own classroom-ready materials rooted in the Folger Method, which emphasizes active, language-centered learning that helps students make discoveries through close reading, collaboration, and performance.

Kilpatrick added, “These 25 remarkable teachers will return home and have an impact far beyond their own classrooms, reaching fellow educators, schools, students, and communities across the country, while remaining a network that will continue to support and uplift one another’s work.”

Twenty-five teachers from 20 states and the District of Columbia were selected from a large and competitive pool of national applicants. The National Endowment for the Humanities has long supported TSI and provides a stipend for travel, lodging, and expenses for all participants. Participants also can earn graduate credits from Trinity Washington University.

2026 Teaching Shakespeare Institute Participants:

ALABAMA

Lynne Sargent, Oneonta High School

ARIZONA

Arnold Recinto, Douglas High School

CALIFORNIA

Chon Lee, Santa Monica High School

COLORADO

Amanda Ellis Pollard, University Schools

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Clare Berke, Thompson High School (formerly MacArthur High School)

ILLINOIS

Beth Hogan, Campus Middle School for Girls

IOWA

Alex Grapp, Ames High School

KANSAS

Jillian Dunlay, Blue Valley West High School

KENTUCKY

Jim Grayson, Montgomery County High School

Alicia Wilson, Daviess County High School

MARYLAND

Sidney Wollmuth, Wheaton High School

MASSACHUSETTS

Taryn Fernacz, North High School

Summer Witts, Greater Lowell Technical High School

MICHIGAN

Jim Woehrle, Midland High School

MINNESOTA

Kathleen Stalnaker, Spring Lake Park High School

MONTANA

Lauren Feese, Ronan School District #30

NEW YORK

Marc Goldsmith, The Shefa School

Kiyoko Nakamura-Koyama, LaGuardia High School

OHIO

Samantha Dunham-Lee, Columbus School for Girls

OKLAHOMA

Lydia Garza, Springdale Elementary

RHODE ISLAND

Owen Harris, Hope High School (student teaching placement ended)

TEXAS

Vanessa Granados, SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle School

VIRGINIA

Molly Menickelly, Dominion High School

WISCONSIN

Kathy Martin, Memorial High School

Support provided by National Endowment for the Humanities:

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at:  www.neh.gov.

ABOUT FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

The Folger Shakespeare Library showcases the utility of Shakespeare and the humanities in cultivating healthy civic life. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is also home to a world-renowned collection of books, manuscripts, and prints from the 1500s to the early 1700s. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from pathbreaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger fosters curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking and welcomes visitors from Washington, DC and from across the globe. Learn more at www.folger.edu.

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