Three Virginia Beach teachers had the opportunity to go back in time to the colonial era for a fun-filled week of insight, education and professional development at the 2014 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Summer Teacher Institute.

Ashley Francisco, a fifth-grade teacher at Brookwood Elementary, Corinne Wolfe-Cornwell, a fifth-grade teacher at Windsor Oaks Elementary, and Tammy Quent, a fifth-grade teacher at Indian Lakes Elementary took part in the week-long trip.

According to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation press release, the institute included tours of the museums’ exhibition galleries and outdoor living-history areas, tours of the Historic Jamestowne, site of America’s first permanent English settlement, and attended a Colonial Williamsburg African-American music evening program.

In addition, Francisco, Wolfe-Cornwell and Quent also took part in two hands-on programs: “A Sea Grammar,” which focused on life during 17th century seamanship and “A School for the Soldier,” a look into 18th-century military life.

“(I left the Institute with) a greater depth of knowledge about and respect for that time period than I had ever learned in any academic course, as well as a professional commitment to share my new found knowledge while modeling my teaching after this incredible experience,” Cornwell said. “After all, I want my students to walk away with the same sense of worthiness, inspiration and energy that I was privileged to experience.”

For more information about Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation education programs, call (888) 868-7593 toll-free or (757) 253-4939 or visit www.historyisfun.org.