PARTNERS IN EDUCATION: Read about the

Our Partners in Education:

The Super Bowl Champions Buccaneers!

by Laura Cross, photos provided by Hillsborough County Public Schools

DEAR TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, Hi! It’s the Hillsborough County Public School District here, and we have a question. Can we be your number one fan, please? Your players and your organization have done so much for our schools for years, and then you go and win the Super Bowl the year Tampa hosts it—and the NFL pumps even more goodness into our schools! THANK YOU!

Let’s begin with all the ways you help our schools, students and staff throughout the year:

● You sponsor the Jr. Bucs Program in our elementary and middle schools, which provides our students with educational activities that infuse football skills into current physical education curriculum. ● You have donated FitnessGram software for 14 of our schools.

This allows educators to set goals with students to meet individual fitness needs and teach health habits to students. ● You donate school supplies to the schools that show the most school spirit on the Fridays before home games. #RaiseTheFlags ● You constantly provide free flags, trading cards and poster incentives for our students. ● You sponsor the annual Acts of Kindness Art Contest and support art education throughout our district. ● You celebrate student achievements by hosting a district-wide Field Day at One Buc Place each year. Now, we’ll move on to the past couple months. Wow. The donations and the opportunities you and the Super Bowl have afforded our students is immeasurable and will have lasting effects on our community:

● As part of its efforts to address the digital divide, the

NFL, EVERFI 306 and Hillsborough Education Foundation donated $50,000 to assist students throughout our area. ● The NFL Alumni Association broke ground on a brandnew obstacle course across the street from Stewart

Middle Magnet School. ● When a young man from Twin Lakes Elementary made his own jersey out of post-it notes, you knew his creativity needed to be rewarded. You surprised him at school with his very own autographed jersey! ● We haven’t even mentioned the joy you bring to our school community every week and how you provide some of the best role models our students could hope for.

For these reasons and so many more, dear Buccaneers, we plead with you to officially crown Hillsborough County Public Schools your number one fan! We will be sitting here, dressed head-to-toe in pewter and red, eagerly awaiting your response!

Yours very gratefully, Hillsborough County Public Schools, students and staff!