Attention all teachers: this one’s for you. A new initiative from the Guam Preservation Trust is putting $500 into classrooms to help fund heritage-focused lessons and projects. KUAM spoke to chief program officer Joe Quinata to break down how it works.

Classroom teachers have a unique opportunity to educate students while preserving Guam’s culture and heritage—both through their lessons and by directly engaging with their students. In recognition of that role, the Guam Preservation Trust is launching Project “Shop,” an initiative designed to support heritage-oriented classroom projects by funding the materials needed to bring those ideas to life.

Quinata said, "I used to be a teacher myself, and I know how difficult it is to get supplies—and many times we use our own personal funds to do that. The Guam preservation trust is thinking about you in that respect.”

“Maybe if we get the ideas from teachers on how they feel that they should teach heritage, whether they are math teachers, social studies teachers, English teachers, fine arts—any teacher can teach our heritage using their subject matter.”

During this first cycle, interested public and private elementary, middle, and high school teachers are invited to submit a brief proposal—no more than 300 words—outlining their idea and how they would use the $500 allotted through the project.  “One example is really looking at taking their students on a field trip to historic sites, that is important that the teacher has some lessons for it," he added.

“What are the outcomes? What do they think with this idea? What do they think the students will take out of it?”

A total of 25 teachers will be selected based on several criteria: how achievable the idea is by the end of the 2025–2026 school year, how effectively Guam history, preservation, heritage, and Chamoru culture are incorporated, and whether supplies can be purchased through local vendors. Quinata explained,  “All of the materials that they’re going to use have to come from vendors on island.”

“And so, what we’re doing is that we’re even going a step further and saying you tell us the vendor and we will write the check directly to that vendor.”

The deadline to apply is January 31. For guidelines and submission details, visit www.pacificpreservation.org/shop.