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Maryville High School's family history project has forged deep, lasting familial bonds and ensured future academic success for 20 years.

Juniors enrolled in the school's Honors and Advanced Honors English and U.S. history classes — which are currently being taught by Dr. Penny Ferguson and Mark White — work on the long-term assignment. More than 3,000 students have completed the project in its 20 years of existence.

Ferguson's inspiration for the project stemmed from the 1988 Institute for Writing Tennessee History. Dr. Richard Marius, an American academic and writer, encouraged teachers to have students research their local history. Ferguson immediately implemented a history project in her classroom.

The family history project was an English-only assignment for two years, and students concentrated on Blount County history, Ferguson said. Teachers later saw it as an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and turned it into a long-term project for U.S. history and English students, she said.

Teachers used to hold all-day celebrations in Maryville High School's library and began its current evening dessert reception about eight years ago, Ferguson said. They also published a recipe book for the project's first seven years, she said.

MHS teachers White, Rodney Nelson, Penny Piper and Brooke Wilson have collaborated over the project's 20 years with Ferguson.

Teachers have fond memories of the program. "It's really brought everybody together. Our students and families have got so much out of this," Ferguson said.

Many parents would probably agree with Ferguson's statement. Maryville High School's family history project has served as the catalyst for significant family breakthroughs, said parent Cindy Wilson.

Both her sons -- Jack and Robb -- have completed the family history project. "I think their books could be the most significant things to come out of our family," Cindy Wilson said. The Wilsons didn't as much about their family history prior to the school project, she said.

Family members have found the ancestors of her husband, Dave Wilson, bought land in modern-day Blount County in 1782, Cindy Wilson said. They've also found a relative on her mother's side was a passenger on the Mayflower, she said. The woman died as the last surviving Mayflower passenger, Cindy Wilson said.

After her eldest son's project, the Wilsons became members of the East Tennessee Historical Society's First Families of Tennessee. The program was founded in 1993 to honor the state's first residents and to identify their descendants.

Family members were overwhelmed when they saw the finished project and how much time and effort her eldest son had put into his work, Cindy Wilson said.

Final year?

Ferguson and White will be teaching their Honors and Advanced Honors English and U.S. history classes on an A/B schedule next year, which means they will no longer have students in class everyday.

The pair is currently evaluating the family history project and whether it could work on the new schedule. Ferguson and White have discussed ideas for several new projects that would place an even greater emphasis on technology.

"We could decide to do something different. We're not tied to the family history project. I'm kind of excited about the thought of creating something new," White said. "We've always wanted to take our students beyond the four walls of our classroom," Ferguson added.