Lafayette Elementary School Unveils New Media Center

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lafayette Elementary School opened its doors to the community for a tour of the school's newly developed media center and computer lab. The space was inspired by Lafayette's teacher, Katherine Tacea, who was awarded one of six $100,000 grants from the Farmers Insurance® Dream Big Teacher Challenge in 2015 as part of the insurer group's Thank America's Teachers® program. Tacea used the Farmers Insurance funds to bring iPads and Chromebooks into the school and help her students become lifelong digital learners.

At Lafayette Elementary School, 100 percent of the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunch and the school does not have adequate funds on its own to provide the desired technological resources to its students. With her proposal, Tacea envisioned equity and access for all and closing the achievement gap for families and children in her area. Tacea was able to bring her vision to life by upgrading an outdated library into the 21st century. Tacea recently presented the concepts that she's implemented at Lafayette to six hundred educators and is moving forward with training librarians in the district. 

Students, faculty and multiple Farmers Insurance® leaders attended today's special celebration and experienced first-hand the difference that Farmers® investment in education has made for students at Lafayette.

"Farmers® is an organization that believes in smart, and across the country, teachers give their time, talent and knowledge to ensure that children become smarter and better prepared for the future," said Dave Gamble, district manager for Farmers Insurance. "Thank America's Teachers® makes it easy and powerful to offer heartfelt gratitude to educators who have made an impact on our lives. America voted for Ms. Tacea in 2015, and thanks to her vision, the technological enhancements made to her school will benefit learners at Lafayette for generations to come."

Inspired by teachers' hard work and dedication, Thank America's Teachers is Farmers signature corporate social responsibility program, and has awarded more than $3 million in educational grants since its inception. Through Thank America's Teachers, beginning its fourth year in 2017, Farmers will once again give away more than $1 million to deserving teachers, and America will determine how and where to spend it by visiting www.ThankAmericasTeachers.com simply to say thanks. Then, teachers across the country have the opportunity to apply for one of 180 grants worth $2,500 and an additional five teachers will win the Dream Big Teacher Challenge, consisting of five $100,000 grants.

About Thank America's Teachers
Through Thank America's Teachers®, Farmers® will give away more than $1,000,000 to educators in 2017 and the public will help determine who receives the grants at www.ThankAmericasTeachers.com. Farmers will award 180 grants valued at $2,500 throughout the year, in addition to the five $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge® grants, awarded at the end of this year.

About Farmers Insurance
"Farmers Insurance®" and "Farmers®" are tradenames for a group of affiliated insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services and products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with over 19 million individual policies nationally, through the efforts of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 21,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange®, the largest of the three primary insurance insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2016 Fortune 500 list.

For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

SOURCE Farmers Insurance