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Each year, Humanities Texas presents fifteen awards recognizing and encouraging excellence in teaching the humanities in Texas schools. In 2016, over seven hundred teachers across the state were nominated for Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Awards. We are pleased to announce this year’s award recipients!
During the 2016–17 school year, each winning teacher will receive $5,000 and an additional $500 for his or her school to purchase humanities-based instructional materials.
2016 Outstanding Teaching Award Winners
James F. Veninga Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award
| Ana Cristina Martinez | Lyndon B. Johnson High School | Laredo |
Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award
| Steve Davidson | MacArthur High School | San Antonio |
| JP Fugler | Van High School | Van |
| Angie Greenlaw | Flower Mound High School, Ninth Grade Campus | Flower Mound |
| Emily Greer | Jackson Elementary School | Tyler |
| Josephine Icaro | LASA High School | Austin |
| John Irish | Carroll Senior High School | Southlake |
| Victoria Rojas | Mission High School | Mission |
| Celange Santiso | Gullett Elementary School | Austin |
| Cameron Stephen | Cy-Fair High School | Cypress |
| Michelle Valliere | Heritage High School | Frisco |
| Laurie Wagner | Rogers Middle School | Pearland |
Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award
| David Norman | Coppell Middle School West | Coppell |
Award for Outstanding Early-Career Teaching
| Natalia Charron | YES Prep West | Houston |
| Ashieda McKoy | KIPP University Prep High School | San Antonio |
For more information on the teaching awards program, including eligibility and a list of past recipients, please visit the Teaching Awards section of our website or email ota@humanitiestexas.org.
Lucy West, 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award recipient, poses with her students at Cathedral High School in El Paso.
2015 Outstanding Teaching Award recipient Robin Long of Windermere Elementary School in Pflugerville reads with her students.
2015 Outstanding Teaching Award recipient Justin Felux of San Antonio’s Johnson High School accompanies his students on a field trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Rebecca Ryan, 2015 Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award recipient, displays her award with (left to right) Humanities Texas staff member Sam Moore, Senator Rodney Ellis's district director Jeremy Brown, and Leland Prep principal Dameion Crook.