On Sunday, April 30, H-E-B announced statewide winners for the 21st annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards during an awards ceremony at the La Cantera Resort and Spa in San Antonio. During the ceremony, $430,000 in cash awards and grants were awarded to eight educators, two school districts, one early childhood school and a public-school board for being among the best in Texas. The program has awarded more than $13 million in cash and grants to Texas teachers and schools since 2002.
Thomas L. Friedman delivered the keynote address to a ballroom packed with hundreds of educators, community leaders and H-E-B employees. Mr. Friedman is an internationally renowned author, reporter and columnist. He is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes–two for international reporting from the Middle East and a third for his columns written about September 11. He is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers—From Beirut to Jerusalem; The Lexus and the Olive Tree; Longitudes and Attitudes; The World Is Flat; Hot, Flat and Crowded; That Used To Be Us (with Michael Mandelbaum); and most recently, Thank You For Being Late.
The following winners were selected from a pool of 58 finalists by judges who include former winners, school administrators, and university and community leaders.
The 2023 H-E-B Excellence in Education Award Winners Are:
Rising Star Elementary
The Rising Star Category recognizes teachers with less than 10 years of experience. Winners received a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their school.
Katie Doyle
Flour Bluff Intermediate School, Flour Bluff ISD
Rising Star Secondary
The Rising Star Category recognizes teachers with less than 10 years of experience. Winners received a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their school.
Ryan Beeler
Spring Woods High School, Spring Branch ISD
Leadership Elementary
The Leadership Category honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. Winners received a $10,000 check for themselves and a
$10,000 grant for their school.
Kaneice Washington
Galena Park Elementary School,
Galena Park ISD
Leadership Secondary
The Leadership Category honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. Winners received a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their school.
Amie Charney
North East School of the Arts, North East ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary
The Lifetime Achievement Category salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Winners received $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000
grant for their school.
Lisa Barry
Woodridge Elementary School,
Alamo Heights ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary
The Lifetime Achievement Category salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Winners received $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000
grant for their school.
Eliza Delgado
Preparatory for Early College High School,
Rio Grande City Grulla ISD
School Principal Elementary
Winning principals received $10,000 in cash for themselves and a
$25,000 grant for their schools.
Dr. Christina Barrera
Moses Menger Elementary School, Corpus Christi ISD
School Principal Secondary
Winning principals received $10,000 in cash for themselves and a
$25,000 grant for their schools.
Jennifer Collier
Spring Woods High School, Spring Branch ISD
Early Childhood
The winning early childhood facility received a $25,000 grant.
Pre-K Academy at West Aveune, San Antonio, Texas, North East ISD
School Board
The winning public-school board received a $25,000 grant for their district.
Northside ISD, San Antonio, Texas
Small School District
The winning small school district received a $50,000 grant.
Corsicana ISD, Corsicana, Texas
Large School District
The winning large school district received a $100,000 grant.
Corpus Christi ISD, Corpus Christi, Texas
Rising Star Elementary
The Rising Star Category recognizes teachers with less than 10 years of experience. Winners received a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their school.
Katie Doyle
Flour Bluff Intermediate School, Flour Bluff ISD
Rising Star Secondary
The Rising Star Category recognizes teachers with less than 10 years of experience. Winners received a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their school.
Ryan Beeler
Spring Woods High School, Spring Branch ISD
Leadership Elementary
The Leadership Category honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. Winners received a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their school.
Kaneice Washington
Galena Park Elementary School,
Galena Park ISD
Leadership Secondary
The Leadership Category honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. Winners received a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their school.
Amie Charney
North East School of the Arts, North East ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary
The Lifetime Achievement Category salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Winners received $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their school.
Lisa Barry
Woodridge Elementary School,
Alamo Heights ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary
The Lifetime Achievement Category salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Winners received $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their school.
Eliza Delgado
Preparatory for Early College High School, Rio Grande City Grulla ISD
School Principal Elementary
Winning principals received $10,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools.
Dr. Christina Barrera
Moses Menger Elementary School, Corpus Christi ISD
School Principal Secondary
Winning principals received $10,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools.
Jennifer Collier
Spring Woods High School,
Spring Branch ISD
Early Childhood
The winning early childhood facility received a $25,000 grant.
Pre-K Academy at West Aveune,
San Antonio, Texas, North East ISD
School Board
The winning public-school board received a $25,000 grant for their district.
Northside ISD, San Antonio, Texas
Small School District
The winning small school district received a $50,000 grant.
Corsicana ISD, Corsicana, Texas
Large School District
The winning large school district received a $100,000 grant.
Corpus Christi ISD, Corpus Christi, Texas
About the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards
Do you know an excellent educator?
Nominate them for the 2024 Excellence in Education Awards!
Do you know an
excellent educator?
Nominate them for the 2024 Excellence in Education Awards!
H-E-B asks customers, Partners (employees) and community members to nominate teachers, principals, districts, early childhood facilities and school boards in Texas. Each nominee is sent an invitation to complete an application online and is asked about their professional experiences, educational philosophies and achievements both in and out of the classroom.
A team of judges reviews the applications, narrowing the field to semi-finalists. From that pool, five regional judging panels comprised of former winners, administrators, and university and community leaders not affiliated with H-E-B select 40 teacher and principal finalists. Finalists and their schools receive a cash prize of $1,000 to $2,500, depending on category.
Three separate panels select eight school districts and five early childhood facilities as finalists, awarding $2,500 to $5,000 in cash prizes. Up to five school boards may also be recognized and awarded $5,000 towards the district they serve. Additionally, one or more school boards may receive a special judge’s award totaling up to $25,000. Site visits are conducted to determine winners.
Teacher and principal finalists are invited to compete on a statewide level for larger cash prizes totaling more than $400,000. A statewide panel of judges, not affiliated with H-E-B, conducts a personal interview with each finalist to select winners.
Eight winners — two principals and six teachers — are announced along with two school districts, one large and one small, a public school board and an early childhood facility, at a celebratory dinner.
Each winning principal—one elementary school and one high school—receives $10,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools. The winning large school district receives a $100,000 cash prize and the winning small school district receives $50,000. The winning early childhood facility receives $25,000 and a school board could be awarded up to $25,000.
The six winning teachers include one elementary and one secondary teacher in each of three categories:
The Rising Star Award — honors exceptionally promising teachers with less than 10 years of experience. These winners will each receive a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their schools.
The Leadership Award — honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. These winners will each receive a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their schools.
The Lifetime Achievement Award — salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. These teachers will each receive $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools.
