Most children never have an opportunity to shout at the top of their lungs in a school library. Last Tuesday, however, 60 children at Broadview-Thomson Elementary in North Seattle were given that rare opportunity when Seahawks defensive end Joe Tafoya made a surprise visit.
Stan Emert, director of corporate social responsibility, led the students in a cheer celebrating the recognition of their teacher, Maria Fletcher, as a “Hero” for the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program, part of our partnership with the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Public Schools and Vulcan Inc.
“GO!” half of the kids hollered.
“SEAHAWKS!” the others responded.
Fletcher, the school’s English Language Learners (ELL) teacher, was honored for her outstanding skill, talent and dedication as an educator.
School principal Jeanne Smart expounded on Fletcher’s teaching merits during her introduction, “Ms. Fletcher is just involved everywhere,” Smart said. “She does such a great job in class, and helps develop strategies to help other teachers help her students learn. She’s a very caring and kind teacher.”
Smart says Fletcher is a consistent advocate for all students and their families. She consistently engages the families of her students and founded a Latino Parent Teacher Student Association at Broadview-Thomson.
“Because of Ms. Fletcher’s efforts to connect with and serve as a liaison to our Spanish-speaking families,” Smart writes in her nomination, “our English-speaking PTSA now includes two representatives from our Latino PTSA.”
As Fletcher prepared to accept her award and the cheer concluded, the children’s eyes widened, as did Fletcher’s, when they realized a real Seahawk was on-hand to present the award.
“I didn’t know a player was actually coming,” Fletcher whispered under her breath as the 6-foot-4-inch Tafoya crept into the library behind the students sporting his No. 69 jersey.
After surprising the audience, Tafoya presented Fletcher with her award, shared stories about his elementary school experiences and answered student questions.
“Do you run very fast?” a younger student asked skeptically.
“I may look big and slow,” quipped Tafoya, “but I can run really fast.”
Fletcher received two VIP tickets to Sunday’s game against Minnesota, where she and two other Seattle Public School teachers were recognized both on the field and on “Hawkvision” — Qwest Field’s big screens — in front of 67,000 fans. She also received a bag of NFL goodies and financial contributions from both Symetra and Vulcan to help purchase materials for her students.
As the presentation closed, Fletcher expressed gratitude toward her students, colleagues and the program sponsors.
“I’m so excited,” Fletcher said. “I’ve never had anything like this happen before and I’m very honored. I appreciate each and every one of you.”