The first weekend in May was a banner one for Galena Park ISD. On the first Saturday, May 4, they watched voters approve the largest bond in district history with an overwhelming majority. The following day, Sunday, May 5, Dr. John Moore and a team of district personnel attended an awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in Houston where they accepted the Large School District of the Year Award at the 22nd annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards ceremony.
The food store chain handed out $480,000 in cash awards and grants to six teachers, two counselors, two principals, two school districts, one early childhood facility and a public school board for being among the best in Texas.
H-E-B has been handing out awards since 2002 and has issued more than $13 million in cash and grants to Texas teachers and schools and is the largest of its kind in the state of Texas and the nation.
Galena Park ISD won the large school district award over numerous other competitors.
“That’s the big daddy, the one everyone is chasing,” Moore said.
Sam Houston Elementary School counselor Roxanne McCabe was awarded the School Counselor—Elementary of the Year and received a $10,000 check for herself and a $15,000 grant for her school.
J.J. Watt delivered the keynote address to a ballroom packed with hundreds of educators , community leaders and H-E-B employees. Watt, a Pewaukee native, was the number 11 Overall Pick in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) Draft by the Houston Texans and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times. Off the field, as president and founder of the Justin J. Watt Foundation, he provides after school athletic opportunities for children.
Moore said they were selected from a pool of 68 finalists by judges who include former winners, school administrators, and university and community leaders.
“We filled out the application and recruited expert writer Terri Moore to write the application answering about five questions. She did well enough to get us into the Top 5,” Moore said.
Then came the visit.
Moore said a host of people participated in the campus visits, but the stars of those visits were the students and parents.
“We had multiple parents on that committee, some were employees, and some weren’t, but the students and parents on that committee are the ones that sold GPISD to their committee,” the superintendent said.
Every school district has employees that sell the district, he said, but he credited the parents and students as the difference makers.
The application focusing on themes of how the district meets the needs of the whole child—academic, social, and emotional.
“A system that provides multiple opportunities across a vast array of subjects from CTE, to fine arts, to high level academics, to athletics. All the things that every student can find at least one thing that they can excel at,” Moore said.
There were at least 25 on the immediate committee and more than 50 team members from the district were involved with the tours on campuses of North Shore Senior High and Galena Park High Schools.
The $100,000 prize will go towards the $150 million-plus annual budget.
“We won’t slice out one piece of pie and give it all to one group, but we’ll be looking for special projects and what their needs are particularly at the two high schools,” the superintendent said.
The district supplements the costs of students for several things this past year including prom, band travels to San Antonio for the state championships, athletic trips and more.
“It will be used for a broad array of activities,” the superintendent said.
Public education has traveled a tough road the last few years with COVID-19, a historic freeze, and Hurricane Harvey. Public ed has not received additional funding per student since 2019.
Moore said he felt like the community trusts them to do the right thing.
“This (award) is a cherry on top for them. What they’ve been believing is going on, now they have someone verifying that for them,” he said referring to the award.
The H-E-B award program is not the only one the district seeks out.
“Our demographics qualify us for a lot of grant opportunities, most of them coming in the form of after school care and some free stuff,” he said. “Usually, grant money also comes with strings attached. This money from HEB does not,” he explained.
Since winning the large district award, they are no longer eligible for that same award again, but will seek out additional funds through other opportunities.
Moore was also appreciative of the community’s support for the recent passage of the $500 million-plus bond that was won overwhelmingly.
Here’s a list of the HEB awards given to GPISD candidates since its inception:
2024–LARGE DISTRICT, Galena Park ISD
2024–SCHOOL COUNSELOR, Roxanne McCabe, Sam Houston Elementary
2023–ELEMENTARY LEADERSHIP, Kaneice Washington, Galena Park Elementary
2022–PRINCIPAL SECONDARY: Dr. Kimberly Martin, Galena Park High School
2005—SECONDARY LEADERSHIP: David Persails, North Shore Sr. High School