Symetra and the Seattle Seahawks awarded Juanita High School (JHS) with the 2015 Symetra Heroes in the Classroom “MVP Award.” JHS will receive a $10,000 grant to fund innovative student achievement programs that focus on serving English Language Learners (ELL), including a Global Library.

The winning programs were announced at an April 29 luncheon at CenturyLink Field celebrating the 16 Puget Sound-area teachers recognized as Symetra Heroes in the Classroom during the 2015 NFL season.

“A wealth of studies in the past decade strongly indicates that ELL students learn better, earn higher grades, and become less likely to drop out when they supplement content-area classes with learning in their home language,” said Gary Moed, JHS principal. “The Global Library will be a multi-purpose, multi-cultural reading room for the school and broader community that will allow Juanita High School to better serve our ELL students, promote cultural awareness and bilingualism in our general population, and extend our reach into the portions of our community that historically have tended to be marginalized.”

The Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program honors K-12 teachers for educational excellence throughout the NFL’s regular season. Each of the 16 Puget Sound-area schools with a teacher / Hero is eligible to submit an MVP Award proposal (Juanita High School chemistry instructor, Michael Bailey, was a 2015 Symetra Hero in the Classroom). Nominated programs are evaluated on a range of criteria, including innovation, feasibility, and demonstrated need.