At H-E-B, our top priority is taking care of Texans. As the rapidly-evolving novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation impacts our communities, we have made the difficult decision to conduct the 2020 Excellence in Education Awards interviews virtually. The selection of winners and the awarding of more than $400,000 in cash prizes will all be done via social media, with the winners announced on the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards Facebook page on Wednesday, May 6th at 6 P.M. Please log in and see who the 2020 winners will be.
All 2020 finalists will also be invited to attend and be recognized as part of Excellence in Education’s 20th Anniversary Awards weekend in May 2021.
The 2020 finalists are as follows:
Central Texas
Rising Star Elementary:
Yesenia Gomez | St. Elmo Elementary School | Austin ISD
Rising Star Secondary:
James Baker | McDade High School | McDade ISD
Leadership Elementary:
Kelley Hively | Ross F Baldwin Elementary School | Austin ISD
Leadership Secondary:
Sarah Walker | The Ann Richards School For Young Women Leaders | Austin ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary:
Diana Garcia | De Zavala Elementary School | San Marcos ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary:
Victoria Longoria | Del Valle High School | Del Valle ISD
Principal Elementary:
Kathy Cawthron | Claude Berkman Elementary Arts Integration Academy | Round Rock ISD
Principal Secondary:
Kathleen Burke | Killeen ISD Early College High School | Killeen ISD
San Antonio
Rising Star Elementary:
Gerardo Villegas Juarez | Charles Graebner Elementary School | San Antonio ISD
Rising Star Secondary:
Priscilla Prather | Dr. John Folks Middle School | Northside ISD
Leadership Elementary:
Carl Dickerson | Sky Harbour Elementary School | Southwest ISD
Leadership Secondary:
B. Patrice Bartlett | Alamo Heights High School | Alamo Heights ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary:
Dr. Raquel Cataldo | Helotes Elementary School | Northside ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary:
Dottie Griffith | Dr. Bernard Harris Middle School | Northeast ISD
Principal Elementary:
De'Ann Upright | Dr. Sara B. McAndrew Elementary School | Northside ISD
Principal Secondary:
Dr. Jerry Woods | Tom C. Clark High School | Northside ISD
Houston
Rising Star Elementary:
Sarah Tredway | Baker-Ripley Elementary School | Promise Community Schools
Rising Star Secondary:
Laura Dunham | Clear Lake High School | Clear Creek ISD
Leadership Elementary:
Kathryn Mills | Mayde Creek Elementary School | Katy ISD
Leadership Secondary:
Eva Lanczos | Mac Arthur High School | Aldine ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary:
Lynn Odnovyun | Sam Jamison Middle School | Pearland ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary:
Susan Ellis | Central Middle School | Nederland ISD
Principal Elementary:
Benjamin Perez | Taylor Ray Elementary School | Lamar Consolidated ISD
Principal Secondary:
Dr. Carlos Phillips II | Booker T Washington High School & the High School for the Engineering Professions | Houston ISD
South Texas
Rising Star Elementary:
Amanda Hawes | Faulk Elementary School | Aransas Pass ISD
Rising Star Secondary:
Jonathan Gain | Flour Bluff High School | Flour Bluff ISD
Leadership Elementary:
Carlina Capelo-Pichardo | Narciso G. Cavazos Elementary School | La Joya ISD
Leadership Secondary:
Porfirio Zamora | Veterans Memorial High School | Corpus Christi ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary:
Belinda Guzman | Rembrandt Secondary School | Vanguard Academy Charter School
Lifetime Achievement Secondary:
Robert Rivera | Faulk Middle School | Brownsville ISD
Principal Elementary:
Josie Alvarez | Zachary Kolda Elementary School | Corpus Christi ISD
Principal Secondary:
Rose Longoria | Pace Early College High School | Brownsville ISD
North Texas
Rising Star Elementary:
Kali Saleh | Acton Elementary School | Granbury ISD
Rising Star Secondary:
Sergio Estrada | Riverside High School | Ysleta ISD
Leadership Elementary:
Morgan Castillo | Woodgate Intermediate School | Midway ISD
Leadership Secondary:
Julie Schniers | Central High School | San Angelo ISD
Lifetime Achievement Elementary:
Marilyn Hamilton | Alton Boyd Elementary School | Allen ISD
Lifetime Achievement Secondary:
Nicole Vickerman | R.C. Clark High School | Plano ISD
Principal Elementary:
Dana Boyd | East Point Elementary School | Ysleta ISD
Principal Secondary:
Kathleen Eckert | Hillwood Middle School | Keller ISD
Large
Sharyland ISD | Mission, TX
Mesquite ISD |Mesquite, TX
Northwest ISD | Justin, TX
Dallas ISD | Dallas, TX
Galena Park ISD | Houston, TX
Small
Fabens ISD | Fabens, TX
Boerne ISD | Boerne, TX
George West ISD | George West, TX
Marvelously Made-the School for Young Children | Helotes, TX
Brighton Center's Kindergarten Readiness Preschool | San Antonio, TX
Hidalgo ISD | Hidalgo, TX
Hampton Moreno Dugat Early Childhood Center | Beeville, TX
Lawson Early Childhood School/McKinney ISD | McKinney, TX
Elgin ISD | Elgin, TX
Mission CISD | Mission, TX
Community ISD | Nevada, TX
Canyon ISD | Canyon, TX
Greenville ISD | Greenville, TX