Boehner Welcomes Lakota East Teacher to D.C. as Part of House Fellows Program

The House Fellows Program provides an opportunity for some our outstanding teachers to see first-hand how Congress works and to take that experience home to their students, Boehner said.  Tisha Menchhofer is a credit to Lakota East High School.  Her experience in the House Fellows Program will benefit not only her students but other teachers as they provide our children with an education that prepares them for college and life.

Menchhofer teaches Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics, and U.S. Government, and was selected to participate in the competitive program that is offered in a handful of Congressional districts, based on a representatives seniority.  She is among 10 high school American history and government teachers who took part in the Fellows Programs second session.

This opportunity really extends to me the ability to take back to my students the real inner workings of Congress from a personal perspective, Menchhofer said.  Im very honored to be part of the House Fellows Program because it is so selective.

Menchhofer is in the process of completing her Ph.D. in Miami University’s Educational Leadership program.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in comprehensive social studies with a minor in political science and history from Miami University and her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Xavier University.

She has been the Academic Quiz Team coach for the past six years, Junior Statesmen of America Advisor for the past two years, a cheerleading coach, co-theater manager and the VFW’s Voice of Democracy speech contest facilitator at Lakota East.  Menchhofer received the GMC Academic Quiz Team coach of the year in 2006 and the Educator of the Year Award from the senior class of 2007.  She is an alumna of the 2007 Georgetown University Law Center’s Street Law program.

The Office of the House Historian designed the Fellows Program to help educators improve the knowledge and understanding of the U.S. House of Representatives.  The program is open to high school teachers who spend a week in Washington when the House has key votes.  Fellows participate in insider briefing by the Office of the Historian, as well as the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

As part of the continuing program, House Fellows will present their experiences and lesson plans to at least one in-service institute for other history and government teachers.  In this way, House Fellows will impact more than 10,000 high school teachers, providing an inside account of the functions of the U.S. House.  

The Office of the House Historian was established in April 2005 with the appointment of Dr. Robert V. Remini, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and award winning author, as Historian of the House, and Dr. Fred W. Beuttler as Deputy Historian.  As Director of the House Fellows Program, Beuttler is assisted by Dr. Charles Flanagan, Upper School Humanities Department Chair at The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland, and Office of the Historian professional staff members, Michael Cronin and Anthony Wallis. As a non-partisan organization, the Office of the Historian exists to support Members of Congress, their Staffs, Committees, other Offices, the media and public in their need for historical information and background. The Office is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the House of Representatives.