The University of Washington honored Battle Ground High School teacher Jonas Fridriksson during an awards ceremony on May 13 with the 2026 Thomas J. and Cameron Pressly Endowed Prize for Outstanding History or Social Studies Teacher.
Elizabeth McAleer, a 2025 graduate of Battle Ground High School and current University of Washington student, nominated Fridriksson for the award, according to a news release from Battle Ground Public Schools.
“Mr. Fridriksson consistently works to make learning fun for his students,” McAleer wrote in her nomination. “He shows his students that history doesn't always mean textbooks and dust. It’s really about active conversations and learning from the past to inform our present. In making learning fun, his students are able to walk away with a greater understanding of our history in America and are prepared to have the hard conversations necessary to improve our country’s future.”
Fridriksson has taught at Battle Ground High School since 1994 and earned Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year honors in 2013. In addition to teaching, he coaches sports and Knowledge Bowl and advises the school’s National Honor Society and Model United Nations programs.
