Chief Sealth High School, Beacon Hill Elementary Win $20,000 "MVP Award" Funding from Symetra Financial, Seahawks to Enable New Achievement Programs

Dec. 18, 2008 SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Symetra Financial and the Seattle Seahawks announced today that Chief Sealth High School and Beacon Hill International School are the recipients of the 2008 Symetra Heroes in the Classroom "MVP Award." Through the award, each school will receive $20,000 toward an innovative student achievement program.

The Chief Sealth program will improve technology education and expand the availability of computers. Beacon Hill will develop a community literacy program tailored to the unique multicultural needs of the school's students and families.

The Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program honors Seattle Public School teachers for excellence in the classroom throughout the Seahawks season. This year each of the schools represented by a 2008 teacher Hero were eligible to compete for the MVP Award, which provides funding to enhance learning at Seattle schools.Symetra and the Seahawks joined the Alliance for Education, Seattle Foundation and Seattle Public Schools to develop the MVP Award funding plans and select the winning schools.

Chief Sealth: "LapHawks" The LapHawks program promotes computer literacy and computer programming skills-particularly among female students. Currently, students have limited access to computers and technology curriculum, which can be an impediment as they enter college and the workforce.

Led by science teacher and 2008 Hero, Dr. Nancy Ruzycki, LapHawks will provide laptop computers to integrate technology in lessons across the school. Teachers will be trained on how to use computer modeling to provide lessons that motivate students, broaden curriculum objectives, and better prepare students for the workplace.In addition, the computers will be used for peer mentoring between students in the SmartGirls afterschool program and middle schools students, expanding the impact of the technology.

"The MVP award enables us to reach students in a whole new way," said John Boyd, principal of Chief Sealth. "From analyzing data in science class, to preparing visual reports in history class, these laptops will help support students in reaching their fullest potential.

"Beacon Hill: "Heroes at Home-Our Most Valuable Readers"The "Heroes at Home" program empowers parents, especially non-native English speakers, to assume a more active role in supporting their child's literacy learning. Beacon Hill educates a significant number of kids with families that read and write in a language other than English, and have limited access to literacy materials in the home. By providing books and resources in native languages, this program aims to strengthen parental support of reading at home, thereby improving their child's academic success.The funds will be used to purchase books and audio recordings in languages such as Chinese, English, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

Mary Thompson, school librarian and 2008 Hero, will also lead Family Library Days once a week, encouraging parents to volunteer in the library and check-out new books in their home languages.Other events including Family Literacy Nights hope to give parents encouragement, strategies and the confidence to recognize the impact they have on their child's academic success.

"Learning begins at home-parents are children's first and most impactful teachers," said Dr. Susie Murphy, principal of Beacon Hill. "Heroes at Home reflects the cultural diversity of our school, empowering parents of all backgrounds to maximize their children's success in literacy."

The schools will be honored by Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke and Symetra CEO Randy Talbot during an on-field check presentation prior to kickoff of the Seahawks last home game of the season on Dec. 21.

For more information about the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program, visit www.symetra.com/heroes.

MVP Award CommitteeSymetra Financial: www.symetra.com

Seattle Seahawks: www.seahawks.com

Seattle Public Schools: www.seattleschools.org

Alliance for Education: www.alliance4ed.org

Seattle Foundation: www.seattlefoundation.org