La Sana Groome, who advises yearbook at Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida, is this year’s JEA Diversity Award winner. This award honors a scholastic journalism teacher, student media adviser or scholastic journalism group for demonstrating a commitment to cultural awareness and encouraging a multicultural approach with its student media staff, media production and/or community. Groome will be honored at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis.
“It has been clear that La Sana desires to make Wekiva a place where all students feel seen, valued and engaged,” Varsity yearbook representative Teenie Reddeck, CJE, said. “She approaches her yearbook program not just as a publication, but as a living record, working hard to include more students in the book each year.”
Groome teaches two periods of yearbook with roughly 80 students.
“She manages a large and diverse staff, yet she still finds ways to encourage each student individually,” Reddeck said. “Even though counselor placement often determines who ends up in the yearbook class, she works intentionally with the students she has, helping them grow as storytellers and ensuring that a wide range of voices and experiences shape the book.”
Coworker Elgatha-Ethel Lee said when students identify gaps in coverage, Groome doesn’t just listen — she acts.
“She invites their perspectives into editorial decisions, integrates cultural and identity-based narratives into the yearbook, and implements inclusive practices that reflect the full spectrum of the Wekiva High School community,” Lee said. “From highlighting underrepresented clubs and cultural celebrations to mentoring students on ethical storytelling, her approach transforms the yearbook into a platform for equity and inclusion.”
Manoola Abdi, foreign language director at the Al Faisal Institute, said Groome models the principles of equity and inclusion in the classroom.
“She creates a space where students feel safe to share ideas and learn from one another,” Abdi said. “La Sana’s commitment to diversity is evident in every aspect of her work. She does not treat inclusion as a checkbox; she embeds it into the culture of her program. Through her leadership, the yearbook has become more than a publication — it is a testament to the richness of the Wekiva High School community and a model for what scholastic journalism should strive to achieve.”
