The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and Port Jefferson High School have partnered on an educational program to teach students about local sports history and provide them with unique experiences in the classroom, on research-based projects and at Hall of Fame events.
This is the first program of its kind in the 32-year history of the Hall of Fame, which serves to honor people and places of historic significance in Suffolk County.
Port Jefferson High School will be offering a sports history class in its curriculum for the first time in the fall of 2022 and the Hall of Fame will help develop lessons, line up guest speakers and work directly with faculty on content creation opportunities related to history, research and media.
Uniquely the partnership was developed through the Vaccaro brothers. Chris is the President of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and Bryan is a social studies teacher and multi-sport coach at Port Jefferson High School. Bryan developed the sports history class which was approved by the board of education and administration.
Key aspects of the educational partnership
- Curriculum and lessons: The Hall will work with the social studies department on creating lessons and curriculum related to local sports history
- Guest speakers: Inductees of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame will visit the class in person or via Zoom throughout the school year
- Induction attendees: Select students will have the opportunity to attend the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame induction in June and help provide social media support, increasing their media and sports business skills and understanding
- Historic research projects: The class will research local places of sporting significance and make recommendations to the Hall on where to place future historic markers
- Inductee research projects: They will also research notable sports people and make recommendations to the Hall voting committee on possible future inductees
- Sports content creation: Student work and research will be featured on the Hall’s online and social media pages with faculty approval
“This is another monumental step in the history and purpose of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame,” said Chris R. Vaccaro, President of the Hall. “We’re an organization based around history and what good is our history if we can’t educate others? To partner with a local school district with an outstanding academic track record is a major win as the Hall continues to evolve its purpose and place on Long Island. This will be a very rewarding experience for the students. To develop this program with my brother, a deeply passionate educator and coach, is also very meaningful for me.”
“There is no greater unifying force in society than sports and having the ability to merge both my passions, history and sports, will allow a wide range of students to learn how sports can transcend society,” said Bryan Vaccaro, Port Jefferson social studies teacher and multi-sport coach. “I appreciate the support of the Port Jefferson School District for believing in my vision of this course and couldn’t be happier to be able to work alongside my brother. Having a plethora of resources at our disposal from the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame, we will provide as much captivating and relevant content as possible for these students.”
About the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame: The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit established in 1990 to honor outstanding people who have made substantial contributions in the fields of professional and amateur sports on behalf of themselves and Suffolk County. There are 369 inductees in the Hall. The Hall of Fame has exhibits at Fairfield Properties Ballpark (home of the Long Island Ducks), Town of Huntington Townhall, the Section XI offices in Farmingville, Long Island Sports and Rehabilitation in Holbrook and Long Island MacArthur Airport. In 2019 the Hall began placing historic markers at locations of historic sporting significance across the county, including the home of the Long Island Ducks, Bridgehampton High School where Carl Yastrzemski played and Riverhead where Satchel Paige once pitched. Learn more at SuffolkSportsHOF.com.
About Port Jefferson School District: Port Jefferson School District is located just 60 miles east of New York City in the prestigious north shore of Long Island, in the incorporated village of Port Jefferson. The history, character and strong sense of community play an important role in the education of the students.