Statewide Winners Announced at the 2008 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards
H-E-B Awards a Total of $380,000 to Outstanding Texas Educators and School Districts   

HOUSTON, TX – May 05, 2008 – In a grand kick-off to National Teacher Appreciation Week, H-E-B announced on Sunday, May 4 the statewide winners in the 2008 H-E-B Excellence in Education (EIE) Awards. The announcement occurred during the EIE Awards Celebration held at the Woodlands Resort & Conference Center in Houston at which 40 Texas teachers and principals and eight school districts were honored for their dedication to Texas children.  

The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards is the largest monetary recognition program for educators in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. H-E-B awarded a total of $380,000 in financial gifts to the grand-prize winners at the celebration.

The 2008 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards Winners are:

Rising Star Elementary Category
Isabel Anaya, Eduardo Villarreal Elementary, San Antonio

Rising Star Secondary Category
Anna Davila, Sartartia Middle School, Sugar Land

*The Rising Star Elementary Category recognizes teachers with less than 10 years of experience. The two winning teachers each received a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their schools.

Leadership Elementary Category
Stacey Shapiro, Zilker Elementary, Austin

Leadership Secondary Category
Arnold Gutierrez, La Joya High School, La Joya

*The Leadership Elementary Category honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. The two winning teachers each received a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their school.

Lifetime Achievement Elementary Category
Sue Kuentz, Stone Oak Elementary, San Antonio

Lifetime Achievement Secondary Category
Vinay Dulip, Foy H. Moody High School, Corpus Christi

*The Lifetime Achievement Elementary Category salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. The two winning teachers each receive $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their school.

Elementary School Principal Category
Billy Snow, Bowie Elementary, Corsicana

*Snow, the winner in this category, received $10,000 in cash for himself and a $25,000 grant for his school.

Secondary School Principal Category
Susan Peterson, Weslaco East High School, Weslaco

*Peterson, the winner in this category, received $10,000 in cash for herself and a $25,000 grant for her school.

Large School District Category
Aldine Independent School District, Houston
Superintendent: Dr. Wanda Bamberg

*As the winning large school district, Aldine ISD received a $100,000 cash prize.

Small School District Category
Lackland ISD, San Antonio
Superintendent: Dr. David Splitek
 
*As the winning small school district, Lackland ISD received a $50,000 cash prize.

About the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards
The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program was launched in 2002 in cooperation with the Texas Association of School Administrators as a strong way to
support public education in Texas. It is a personal initiative of H-E-B CEO and Chairman, Charles Butt, who implemented the program to highlight the outstanding practices of Texas public schools and spotlight and celebrate the work of Texas educators. Since its inception, the program has handed out over $3 million to 773 educators and 155 schools and districts across the state.

The program kicks-off annually when the community is asked to nominate their best teachers, principals and districts. This year H-E-B received more than 4,000 nominations. Each nominee was sent an application packet asking them to share their professional experiences, educational philosophies and achievements both in and out of the classroom. Over 1,000 completed applications were received, which were then reviewed by a team of judges and narrowed to 223 semi-finalists who then went on to compete in a regional judging process.

Five regional judging panels comprised of former winners, administrators, and university and community leaders selected the 40 statewide finalists. These finalists were notified of their special status during surprise visits to their schools, March 24 - April 1. Each educator finalist was awarded $1,000. Teachers received an additional $1,000 for their schools while principal finalists received an additional $2,500 for their schools. The eight finalists in the large and small school district categories were selected by a separate judging panel that reviewed written applications and conducted individual site visits. During these visits, each large and small school district finalist received $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.

All of the finalists were invited to Houston for the state-wide competition and awards celebration. While in Houston, the finalists participated in personal interviews before a panel of state-wide judges. During the celebration recognizing all the finalists, the 10 grand-prize winners selected by the judging panel were announced.

About H-E-B
H-E-B was founded in Kerrville, Texas in 1905 with a single grocery store. For more than 100 years, H-E-B has been an innovative retailer known for low prices, fresh food, quality products and convenient services. The company has grown to more than 300 stores in Texas and Northern Mexico with more than 63,000 employees. It conducts a wide range of efforts geared toward helping the community and the environment.