Westview High School students will get new lessons on the Kosovo War after their history teacher spent July traveling through the Balkans on a grant.
John Santella, a social studies teacher at Westview, was one of about two dozen Oregon educators who visited Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo through Portland State University's Center for Geography Education (C-GEO), the Beaverton Valley Times reported.
The trip was part of C-GEO's 2026 Advanced Institute, open only to Oregon K-12 educators who had already completed an introductory institute, according to PSU's program page.
Santella told the Valley Times the region rarely gets classroom time in Oregon schools.
"Although it is a relatively small geographical area, the influences of ancient Balkan peoples, of Romans and Byzantines … are all around you," he said.
One stop that shaped his curriculum plans was Prizren, Kosovo's historical capital.
There, the group held a question-and-answer session with Naser Bresa, a Kosovo War survivor, professor and author. The war, fought between Yugoslav-Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian separatists beginning in February 1998, killed thousands over roughly 15 months.
"Although the historic center had been spared during the Balkan War of 1999, a lack of maintenance had put many buildings at risk, decay that was exacerbated by the breakup of Yugoslavia," an excerpt on Prizren Historic Center reads.
Santella said Bresa's account, along with the experiences of Oregon-based educator Flamur Vehapi, inspired lesson plans covering Yugoslavia's breakup, genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the international community's role in responding to war crimes.
No rollout date has been announced.
The group also explored one of two Bunk'Art Museums in Tirana, Albania's capital. The museums occupy bunkers originally built to shelter government officials during the Cold War. Santella said more than 100,000 concrete bunkers are spread across Albania, built to protect citizens in the event of nuclear war.
Another highlight was Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site straddling the Albania–North Macedonia border, where the teachers visited the Bay of Bones, a prehistoric settlement turned museum.
Santella said he found widespread goodwill toward America in both Albania and Kosovo for the United States' role in ending the war.
Santella's National History Day work
The Balkans trip builds on Santella's record of connecting Westview students to history beyond the textbook. He has grown Westview into one of Oregon's largest participants in the National History Day program.
In 2023, 30 Westview students presented projects at the state contest at Willamette University. Nearly half advanced to the national competition near Washington, D.C.
In March 2024, Santella was nominated for the national Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award in the senior division, one of two Oregon educators recognized. At the 2026 Oregon History Day contest, Westview students coached by Santella competed in categories including group documentary, individual exhibit and group website.
Nancee Hunter, C-GEO director and PSU assistant professor, and Ken Carano, C-GEO programs coordinator and Western Oregon University professor, accompanied the teachers on the July trip.
Santella's new lesson plans have no announced timeline, but his students at Westview will be the first to see the Balkans come into their curriculum.
