Marshall ISD Wins 2025 TAEA District of Distinction Award:
Marshall, Texas — July 17th, 2025 – The Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) announced the 109 winners of the 2025 District of Distinction Award. Among the list of honorees is Marshall Independent School District. The districts received the honor for providing a well-rounded education that advocates and integrates visual arts curriculum to inspire creativity and build social emotional learning that connects learners to their community and beyond. TAEA is the leading advocate for the visual arts in the state. The organization has previously honored outstanding TAEA members for work in their classrooms and districts. This is the seventh year that TAEA is honoring districts that meet rigorous criteria as evidenced from data.
For the 2025 award, over 1,200 districts were eligible to apply. Each district submitted documentation they met from the 14-point rubric over the 2024-2025 school year. Only 109 districts met the high standard and will receive the outstanding honor indicating they are in the top 8 percent in art education of districts in the state. This distinction was made possible through the hard work of Marshall ISD Visual Arts students and staff. The Marshall ISD visual arts staff is as follows: Melissa Hammers- Marshall ISD Fine Arts Coordinator, Todd Camplin and Rena' Guillory- MHS art teachers, Merriah Jackson- MJHS art teacher, Beth Aucoin- Price T. Young Fine Arts Academy art teacher, Jessica Parsons- David Crockett art teacher, Coy Wallace- William B. Travis art teacher, and Karen Foster- Sam Houston STEM art teacher.
“Marshall ISD has set a high standard for visual arts advocacy, integrated visual arts curriculum, encouraged creativity, community participation and student growth,” said Nealy Holley, Chair of the Visual Art Administrators of Texas, a division of TAEA, “It is a true testament to your visual art educators’ skill, dedication, and flexibility that the quality of their programs continued to provide strong and comprehensive visual art educational experiences to students.”
"I was thrilled to find out that Marshall ISD has been named a 2025 District of Distinction by The Texas Art Education Association," said Marshall ISD Superintendent, Dr. Richele Langley. "I have always said that Marshall is blessed with an inordinate amount of talent and this proves my theory. I am so very proud of the students and staff that continue to provide our community with their creativity in the visual arts. This award sets Marshall ISD apart, as this accolade places us in the upper echelon of school districts across Texas, with only 8% of the districts being able to achieve this feat."
One hundred and nine districts, including Marshall ISD, will be honored at the TAEA District of Distinction Awards Ceremony during the TAEA Fall Conference on Friday, November 21, 2025 in Round Rock.
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