He expects his students to do a lot of reading and writing, “so why should I expect anything less from myself,” says Normand L'Heureux.

L'Heureux, who is finishing his 16th year of teaching history at Boothbay Region High School this month, was recently chosen to receive the 2013 James Madison Memorial Fellowship from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation in Alexandria, Va.

L'Heureux was the only Maine teacher to receive one of the competitive 56 fellowships that were offered to secondary school history teachers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the nation's island and trust territories.

“I had looked at applying for this fellowship for a few years,” said L'Heureux, “but family commitments and other things kept me from following through.”

Seeking his second master's degree in history, L'Heureux will spend three weeks in residence this summer at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio with classes each weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. He will also take an online class.

As part of the James Madison Fellowship program, each Fellow attends the four-week Summer Institute on the Constitution held in July in Washington, D.C.

Fellows attend the Institute at Georgetown University after they have matriculated in a graduate program and commenced coursework. L'Heureux will spend next summer in Washington, D.C. completing the Summer Institute curriculum.

According to the foundation's website, the fellowship is named in honor of the fourth president of the United States who is acknowledged as the “Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.” The James Madison Fellowship funds up to $24,000 of each Fellow's course of study towards a master's degree. That program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.

“The school district has helped pay for part of the costs associated with the coursework and the in-residence costs, for which I am most grateful,” said L'Heureux.

 In a press release issued June 6, Gov. Paul LePage congratulated L'Heureux.

“I would like to congratulate Normand for earning this prestigious award,” said LePage. “Your studies devoted to upholding the Constitution of the United States and to the values of our country are truly noteworthy.”

For more information on the James Madison Memorial Fellowship, visit www.jamesmadison.gov/.