COLLEGE STATION — Dr. Shirley Hammond has retired after over 21 years of serving as the Director of Education at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. During her tenure, she created and fostered new education programs to align with and enhance the Texas Education Knowledge and Skills Curriculum. Lesson plans using primary sources of the Bush Presidential Records were added to education programming. She worked with and encouraged Educators in the classroom to submit relevant programs using these primary sources. In addition, she oversaw Education Docents and Texas A&M Student Interns of the Education Department.
She had the great privilege of working with First Lady Barbara Bush to create the special program “Reading Discovery Distance Learning Program” that featured Mrs. Bush. It was held annually in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center with local area students participating as Student Readers and a Guest Author/Speaker.
Other annual programs included the Art and Essay Contest, High School Days, UNT’s Journalism Department’s collaboration with their Young Spur’s Essay Contest, Juneteenth Celebration, Presidents Day, Summer Camps, Constitution Celebration, Bush Library Storytellers Guild featuring a variety of educational programs, i.e., Chemistry Road Show, Early Explorers, Safari in South Africa and “Hank the Cowdog”. There are ten Classroom Premier Programs aligning President Bush’s actions and legislative acts with the United States Constitution. Museum tours for all grades are popular and often combined with a scavenger hunt or a Docent Tour. The “Spotlight on Art Educators Exhibit” is linked to the Art Contest and many Outstanding Educators of the George Bush Presidential Library have been recognized annually.
Dr. Hammond holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in Educational Administration. Previous education positions include teaching at Trinity School, Midland, TX, at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, and at Nishimachi International School, Tokyo, Japan.
About the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
The mission of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University is to preserve and make available the records and artifacts of George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States. The library and museum promote civic literacy and increased historical understanding of our national experience, and foster a community of public service and volunteerism by offering rich educational and public programs, original museum exhibits and access to archival holdings.