Students from Philly to Texas show support for Jalen Hurts, including get-well cards and displays you can see from above
Students at Clara Barton Elementary also wrote letters to Hurts, giving them to Eagles mascot Swoop to hand deliver to Hurts.
Students gathered in front of Clara Barton School on Monday waving green pompoms and chanting “QB1” and “We love Jalen Hurts!” Leading the charge was Eagles mascot Swoop, who attended Clara Barton’s joint pep rally with neighboring Feltonville Intermediate School and Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences.
“He’s loved,” Clara Barton principal Colleen Bowen said of the Eagles quarterback. “He’s an incredible human being. He is the picture of perseverance and hard work and learning from mistakes and growing from them. Everything that we teach our students to be, he emulates. He’s such a great role model and such a great hero for them to relate to and we just love him.”
The elementary school was one of 10 schools that received air-conditioning units in 2024 thanks to a $200,000 donation from Hurts through his foundation’s “Keep it Cool” initiative, which has a goal of improving air-conditioning and electrical infrastructure throughout the Philadelphia public school system.
“We have little ones and if they’re hot, they’re tired,” Bowen said. “If they’re distracted because of the heat, they can’t learn. And every moment of their education is vital. So for him to create a cool setting in a cool classroom, they can now learn and become the best versions of themselves.”
The pep rally was just one way the school wanted to show their love and appreciation for Hurts, following the news that the former Super Bowl MVP will likely miss the remainder of the season with blood clots in his lungs. Eagles fans from around the area have expressed their support in various ways for the quarterback. The students of Clara Barton also wrote letters to Hurts, giving them to Swoop to hand deliver to Hurts.
“He showed us so much love that we just felt the need to show him love back,” Bowen said. “He took care of us, so we wanted to take care of him.”
» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts’ mom takes to TikTok, urging followers to ‘be grateful’
The trio of Feltonville schools weren’t the only ones showing their support for Hurts. Ahead of the Eagles’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the Birds QB got some love from much closer to Cowboys Country. Hurts’ mother, Pamela Hurts, who is an administrator in Channelview, Texas, posted a video showing a number of get-well-soon cards from area students to her son. She even said the school district declared Monday “Jalen Hurts Day.”
Back in Philly, Northeast High School students decided to go big with their support, gathering in formation to spell out “QB1″ on the football field.
With less than a week to prepare before Monday’s primetime matchup, the school knew it needed to do something special for the quarterback. The decision was made to stand in a formation dedicated to Hurts. Making formations on the field has been a Northeast High tradition for at least 15 years.
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“We wanted to incorporate that tradition into celebrating Jalen,” Steph Gaunay, the school’s event coordinator, said. “We really wanted it to be something that’s big and loud and we really wanted all of the students out there to support and rally behind him. It’s like everything in the news cycle is so negative and there’s just no support. So we wanted to show our love and the kids had so much fun.”
The message, which could best be seen from high above, was spelled out by football players, members of the V-Settes, the school’s majorette and dance team, and LLS students. The formation itself took about three minutes to form.
Hurts recently donated $600,000 for a new HVAC system in the school’s auditorium. At a ceremony last month announcing the donation — an event that was also attended by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker — Hurts said he wanted to get the number of schools without air-conditioning from 52 all the way down “to zero.”
“This is our way of giving back to somebody who gave a lot to us,” Northeast principal Andrew Lukov said. “It’s our way of being appreciative and reminding him that we’re in his corner, thanking him again. And, you know, you can’t thank somebody enough. I don’t think there’s any rule against that.”
Bringing AC to public schools is just part of the broader community mission of the Jalen Hurts Foundation, which was launched in 2024 to “strengthen communities by serving and uplifting our youth.” Now with Hurts sidelined, the community has made it their mission to return that support — whether that’s by bringing get-well-soon letters to the games, signing a local Eagles mural, or holding school pep rallies.
The Eagles seem reluctant to address the handling of the Jalen Hurts blood clots saga, but the key questions involved in the story aren’t going anywhere. Throughout the week, in the absence of remarks from general manager Howie Roseman or team medical personnel, head coach Nick Sirianni was peppered by reporters. He’s offered few details in return. After speaking with high-ranking medical officials currently or previously employed by NFL teams, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane frames four central issues that remain unanswered, while also looking at what this situation means for Hurts’ future in Philadelphia. Listen here.
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