Teacher Advisory Panel

Sharon Jackson Tice teaches 8th grade American History at the Downingtown Middle School in Downingtown, PA. She has served in various leadership roles including K-12 Curriculum Leader and Instructional Coach for her school district. She has advanced degrees in education and history from West Chester University and Temple University as well as a Pennsylvania K-12 Administrative Certification. In addition to her teaching duties, Sharon is an active volunteer for and member of the Gettysburg Foundation, Adams County Historical Society, and Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center. She participates in Living History events for the Civil War and Vietnam era.

Keith Long has served as a social studies teacher at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, PA, for more than 30 years, where he teaches AP US History and The History and Literature of Black Civil Rights. He earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State Harrisburg in 1991 and an M.S.Ed. from Wilkes University in 2003. He participated in the Anti-Defamation League’s Wolf Conference in 2016 and was named a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellow in 2017. For his community engagement with The World Affairs Council of Harrisburg he earned Estamos Unidos de PA Community Leader Award in 2013 and the Torch of Global Enlightenment Award in 2017. He received WITF’s Teacher Impact Award in 2021. He enjoys family time, reading, and traveling.

Bob Rinehart teaches social studies at Southampton Middle School in Bel Air, MD. A native of York, PA, during his eight years in television production, he and his station (Cable-4-York) earned several awards for excellence. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education – Social Studies from York College of Pennsylvania in 1994 and a master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Loyola College of Maryland in 2001. He earned Preservation Teacher of the Year by the Civil War Trust (CWT) in 2004, the CWT Chairman’s Award in 2010 and the Gilder/Lehrman Maryland Teacher of the Year in 2014. He has volunteered for CWT’s (now American Battlefield Trust) National Teacher Institute and Annual Conference since 2004. He and his wife, Maureen, have five children.

Paul Shepherd brings his experience as an elementary teacher, district curriculum specialist, elementary principal, school administrator, and district level director in one of Utah’s largest districts, Granite School District. He currently works with ObserverTab as an educational consultant. His past service as a member of the Public Education Standing Committee and Higher Education Appropriations Committee in the Utah State Legislature served to broaden his understanding of educational policy. He has a B.S., M.Ed., and Ed.D. from the University of Utah in Education and Educational Administration. He has six children, fifteen grandchildren, and a black Labrador to keep him on his toes.

Peter Vermilyea teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT, and for the University of Connecticut. Much of his teaching and research is centered on creating connections between local history and broad national themes. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he is the co-director of the student scholarship program at his alma mater's Civil War Institute. He is extremely excited to be involved with the SRMEC Teacher Advisory Panel because he believes Seminary Ridge is uniquely positioned to help teachers and students better understand the complicated legacies of Gettysburg and the Civil War.