POLAND — Jamie L. Karaffa, a teacher at Bruce M. Whittier Middle School in Poland, has been awarded a James Madison Fellowship by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation of Alexandria, Va., in its 24th annual fellowship competition.

A total of 51 fellowships were awarded in 2015. James Madison Fellowships support further study of American history by college graduates who aspire to become teachers of American history, American government and social studies in the nation’s secondary schools, as well as by experienced secondary school teachers of the same subjects.

Named in honor of the fourth president of the United States and acknowledged, “Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights,” the fellowship will fund up to $24,000 of Karaffa’s course of study toward a master’s degree. That program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Karaffa was selected for a James Madison Fellowship in competition with applicants from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the nation’s island and trust territories.

The fellowship, funded by income from a trust fund in the Treasury of the United States and from additional private gifts, corporate contributions and foundation grants, requires its recipient to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support.

The award is intended to recognize promising and distinguished teachers, to strengthen their knowledge of the origins and development of American constitutional government and thus to expose the nation’s secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation’s constitutional heritage.

Founded by an act of Congress in 1986, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

FMI: www.jamesmadison.gov.