Articles
Each year, Humanities Texas presents statewide awards to recognize Texas classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development, and extracurricular programming. We are pleased to feature two 2024 Outstanding Teaching Award recipients and their award presentations. Each award winner received $5,000, with an additional $1,000 for their schools to support further excellence in the instruction of the humanities.
Read more about these amazing Texas teachers, and stay tuned for upcoming newsletter features on our other winners!
Humanities Texas is currently accepting nominations for the 2025 Outstanding Teaching Award cycle! Nominations will be accepted through Monday, December 9, 2024. Visit our Awards page for more information.
Caitlin Bailey-Garafola, Jasper High School, Plano
On October 7, 2024, Texas State Representative Jeff Leach and Humanities Texas Board Member Trasa Cobern presented Caitlin Bailey-Garafola with an Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award during a presentation at Jasper High School in Plano.
Bailey-Garafola, who is in her fifteenth year of teaching, currently teaches humanities, AP European history, and yearbook. To make her courses relevant and applicable beyond the classroom, Bailey-Garafola creates activities and projects that encourage students to embody the history they are learning. In her European history course, Bailey-Garafola holds an Enlightenment salon, where each student assumes the role of a different philosophical thinker. In her humanities course, Bailey-Garafola holds a United Nations summit to teach about the leaders of the Cold War and modern world.
"As a social studies teacher, I think content is an important vehicle to help students understand their role in the world and to see how they can be agents of change and justice," Bailey-Garafola said.
"It is rare to encounter an educator that is able to match her passion for the humanities and subject matter expertise with student engagement, activism, and leadership," said Plano ISD Advanced Academics Director Kevin Moore. "Caitlin Bailey-Garafola consistently embodies all of these qualities and more as a well-respected member of her campus community and our district as a whole."
Jennifer Fey, Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Bulverde
On October 22, 2024, Texas State Senator Donna Campbell presented Jennifer Fey with an Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award during a presentation at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde.
Fey, who is in her twelfth year of teaching, uses project-based learning to emphasize the importance of the subjects she teaches. The projects Fey incorporates are wide-ranging, from Greek and Shakespearean shadow puppet plays to trade route and revolutionary marketing plans.
"The humanities give students a foundation in how to live and how to apply their skills ethically," Fey said. "By learning through authentic projects, students see how history and literature shape their world."
"Six years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the most dedicated, passionate, and skillful teachers I have ever known," said Julie Wiley, principal of Hill Country College Prep High School. "When I started as assistant principal at Memorial Early College High School, Jennifer immediately stood out as an expert of her craft and leader of her peers."