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 2025 Outstanding Teaching Award recipients and their award presentations. Each 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 remarkable educators below, and stay tuned for upcoming newsletter features on our other winners!
Samantha Marsh, Tom Bean High School
On November 20, 2025, State Senator José Menéndez, Humanities Texas Board Member Kathy Schlosberg, and Humanities Texas Director of Grants Marco Buentello presented Samantha Marsh with a Humanities Texas Award for Outstanding Early-Career Teaching during a ceremony at Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio.
When she was announced as an Outstanding Teaching Award recipient, Marsh was teaching at Tom Bean High School, where she had also recently been named teacher of the year in 2024. Marsh currently teaches English language arts and humanities at Cole High School.
At Tom Bean, Marsh created a humanities course from scratch. Her students studied ancient Greek and Roman mythology; explored contemporary American history, literature, art, music, and film; compared the French and American Revolutions; and learned about the Holocaust. In her classroom, Marsh always strives to help her students identify and explore their intellectual passions.
"Seeing each student in my classes find that one thing that makes them light up and realize that is the power of education–and of themselves–to influence the future: that is my greatest accomplishment as an educator of the humanities," said Marsh.
"Ms. Marsh works tirelessly to meet and exceed the needs of her students and her school," said a social studies department colleague at Tom Bean High School. "She is an invaluable asset to the school and community and by far encompasses all the qualities of an outstanding humanities teacher in her young teaching career."
Jessica Blevins, Pflugerville High School
On December 5, 2025, U.S. Congressman John Carter and Humanities Texas Executive Director Eric Lupfer presented Jessica Blevins with a Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award during a ceremony at Jarrell Middle School.
Blevins had been teaching at Pflugerville High School for eleven years when she was named as an Outstanding Teaching Award recipient. She was also recognized by the school as teacher of the year in 2024. Blevins currently teaches English language arts at Jarrell Middle School.
At Pflugerville High School, Blevins led an initiative to increase participation in the AP English Language and Composition exam to 98 percent. She also founded the Elevating Latinas for Leadership Achievement (ELLA) program, a leadership organization focused on culture, academics, and professional growth.
"These initiatives through my humanities courses have not only elevated students' academic trajectories but have also instilled resilience and pride in their cultural and intellectual identities," said Blevins. "Seeing them embrace opportunities they once considered unattainable affirms my commitment to teaching the humanities."
As one of her Pflugerville High School English department colleagues described, "Dr. Blevins always seeks to understand the learning standards to a deeper level, to bring higher rigor into her lessons, and to embed twenty-first-century skills in student-centered activities."