2025 Outstanding Teaching Awards Nomination Form

Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award

This award recognizes exemplary contributions of teachers of humanities subjects in elementary, middle, and high schools across Texas. The top candidate will receive the James F. Veninga Outstanding Teaching of Humanities Award, an award established to honor James F. Veninga, Humanities Texas executive director emeritus, for his twenty-three years of extraordinary contributions to the state council and to the public humanities.

Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the teaching of Texas history at the primary and secondary levels. This award was established in memory of Linden Heck Howell, former chair of the Humanities Texas Board of Directors, as a lasting tribute to her service to the organization and her commitment to the study of Texas history. 

Award for Outstanding Early-Career Teaching

This award recognizes exemplary contributions of early-career humanities teachers in Texas who have completed three or fewer years of teaching. 

Humanities Texas will designate one of the fifteen winners across award categories who demonstrates exceptional leadership in the educational field as a recipient of the Julius Glickman Educational Leadership Award. The award honors former Humanities Texas board member Julius Glickman for his extraordinary leadership of our organization and many others.

Winners in all award categories will receive $5,000, with an additional $1,000 for their schools to purchase humanities-based instructional materials.

Eligibility

• Nominees must be full-time teachers in Texas public or private schools.
• Teachers of English and language arts, foreign languages, history, and social studies are eligible for the Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Awards. Teachers of art, drama, and music are also eligible if they emphasize the history, criticism, and theory of the arts.
• Only teachers of Texas history courses are eligible for the Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award.
• Nominees for the Award for Outstanding Early-Career Teaching must be full-time humanities teachers in Texas public or private schools who have three or fewer years of classroom experience. Teachers of English and language arts, foreign languages, history, and social studies are eligible for this award, as are teachers of art, drama, and music if they emphasize the history, criticism, and theory of the arts.
• Nominees should be skillful and dedicated teachers who possess an expansive and profound knowledge of the humanities subject(s) they teach. Nominees should also have a record of active involvement in community activities and professional organizations, particularly those that promote the humanities.
• Previous Humanities Texas award winners are ineligible to apply. However, previous nominees who have not been selected are eligible to reapply.

How to nominate a teacher

Please complete the online nomination form by Monday, December 9, 2024. Nominated teachers will be contacted with instructions on how to apply for the award. Applications will be due to Humanities Texas by February 3, 2025.

Questions?

Email us at ota@humanitiestexas.org or visit our Awards Page for more information.

Humanities Texas sponsors the Outstanding Teaching Awards program with continuing financial support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support for the Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award program comes from contributions to the Linden Heck Howell Memorial Fund.