8 Austin-area educators among award finalists

Eight Austin-area educators are being recognized as among the best in their profession.

The six teachers and two principals were named finalists this week for the 2019 H-E-B Excellence in Education awards, the largest such program in the state. The educators are among 40 finalists statewide and were surprised this week at their schools with balloons, cookies, flowers and cash prizes.

The finalists were chosen by regional judging panels made up of former winners, community leaders and administrators. To compete for the state awards, each finalist will be interviewed by a statewide panel of judges.

Finalists are chosen in three teaching categories: Rising Star, for teachers with 10 or fewer years of experience; Leadership, for those with 10 to 20 years of experience; and Lifetime Achievement, for educators with at least 20 years of experience. The program also doles out principal awards.

Eight winners — two in each category — will emerge from across the state and will be awarded between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on the category. The winners, who will be announced in May at an awards ceremony in Austin, also will receive up to $25,000 for their campuses.

The area finalists are:

• Kathy Cawthron, principal at Berkman Arts Integration Academy in the Round Rock school district, who has been an educator for 23 years and has been with the Round Rock district since 2015. She is a finalist for top elementary principal.

• JoLisa Hoover, a fourth-grade teacher at Reed Elementary in the Leander district, who has been teaching since 1992 and has been with the district since 2005. She is a Lifetime Achievement finalist for elementary teachers.

• Shamaa Lakshmanan, who has been an educator for 16 years and has taught math and engineering for 12 years at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in the Austin district. She is a Leadership finalist for secondary teachers.

• Molly McFee, an art teacher at Dripping Springs Elementary who has taught at the campus for six of her 10 years as an educator. She is a Leadership finalist for elementary teachers.

• David Pierce, who has been an educator since 1995 and has served as principal at Hays High School in the Hays school district since 2009. He is a finalist for top secondary principal.

• Carol Reese, a teacher in the gifted-and-talented program at West Ridge Middle School in the Eanes district who has been an educator for 42 years. She has worked in the Eanes district since 1983 and at the middle school since it opened in 1987. She is a Lifetime Achievement finalist for secondary teachers.

• Mark Rogers, a kindergarten teacher at Austin Achieve Public Schools who has been an educator since 2010. He has taught at the charter school since last year and is a Rising Star finalist for elementary teachers.

• David Walker, a science teacher at the nationally recognized Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School in the Austin district who has been an educator for 10 years. He is a Rising Star finalist for secondary teachers.

In January, the H-E-B Excellence in Education program announced that the 80,000-student Austin district is among five finalists in the state in the large school district category; the trustees who govern the 11,200-student Del Valle district make up one of five school board finalists; and Child Inc. is one of five finalists among early childhood education facilities.