SHABE Honors Aldine ISD Students, Educators at 2025 Banquet

Disponible en:

The Suburban Houston Association for Bilingual Education (SHABE) celebrated excellence in bilingual, ESL and foreign language education during its 2025 banquet, held on April 4 at the Houston City Place Marriott at Springwoods Village. The event drew more than 700 attendees and honored students, teachers and community leaders from across the Houston area, including several from Aldine ISD.

Four Aldine ISD students received scholarships in recognition of their academic achievements and dedication to language learning.

Lucía Tamez, a senior at Victory Early College High School, was awarded a scholarship donated by JYEmpowerment, an organization co-founded by two former Victory ECHS students — Jonathan Bush and Yoselyn Owolabi. Lucía plans to attend Texas A&M University in the fall.

Three seniors from La Promesa also earned scholarships. Katia Ramírez and Franklin Ochoa both plan to attend Sam Houston State University. Katia’s scholarship was donated by Aldine ISD Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney, while Franklin’s was made possible by J.C. Harville, a retired Spring ISD principal, former director of the Aldine ISD Multilingual Services Department, and recipient of the Diana García Marion Award.

La Promesa classmate Kennia Monsivais Mendiola, who also plans to attend Texas A&M University, received a scholarship donated by Sandra Mercuri.

In addition to student honorees, several Aldine ISD educators were recognized for their impact in the classroom. Mackenzie Klima of Dunn Elementary was named SHABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year, and Laura Andree of Carmichael Elementary was named Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year. Andree was named Aldine ISD’s 2025 Elementary Teacher of the Year at the Educators of the Year Breakfast in March.

At the secondary level, Joseph McGuinness of Grantham Middle School placed third in the Secondary ESL Teacher of the Year category. Juan Flor of MacArthur High School placed third for Foreign Language Teacher of the Year.

Founded in 1987, SHABE was revitalized in 2000 with support from Aldine ISD and leadership from Harville. The organization has grown significantly since then, with this year’s banquet marking its 25th year of scholarship giving. SHABE is now working toward its goal of awarding 25 scholarships annually to deserving students across the region.

To learn more about SHABE and see photos from the event, visit shabetexas.org or follow @SHABE4bilESL on X.