AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) have announced that 43 projects will be included in the 2025-26 Exhibit of School Architecture. This exhibit of new and renovated Texas school facilities includes projects from 33 school districts, one college, and one county department of education that were submitted by 19 architectural firms. Eligible projects are newly constructed or renovated public education facilities completed in the past five years and not previously submitted in this annual exhibit.
The Exhibit of School Architecture awards are given at the discretion of a 12-member jury, which includes: four school board members, four school administrators, and four members from the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) Southern Region. The juried exhibit awarded a total of 106 Stars of Distinction for Excellence in one or more of the following six areas: design, value, wellness, community, planning, and transformation.
Temple ISD’s Sampson-Howard Elementary School, built by Stantec, was one of the projects honored by TASA/TASB. Sampson-Howard Elementary School opened in August of 2024 as the first brand new campus in TISD since 1998. Sampson-Howard is also the only elementary school Fine Arts Academy in the area and was one of the projects approved by voters as part of Bond 2022. The facility was awarded Stars of Distinction in four categories: design, value, wellness, and transformation. By earning at least four stars, Sampson-Howard Elementary is also one of the few projects to be recognized as a member of the Caudill Class. The Caudill Class is a design standard presented to districts and architects that received at least four stars from the six Areas of Distinction. Only ten of this year’s projects received four or more stars.
“District staff worked closely with Stantec to design a project that not only properly pays homage to our community’s rich history and fine arts tradition, but also incorporates environmentally conscious systems like geothermal cooling and heating,” said Kent Boyd, assistant superintendent of facilities and operations for Temple ISD. “We are excited that this beautiful and unique facility will serve Temple children for years to come. It is quite an honor for Stantec, Temple ISD, and Sampson-Howard Elementary to be recognized with four Stars of Distinction by TASA/TASB.”
“Sampson-Howard Elementary is a unifier for our community. It marries the history of East Temple with the Fine Arts tradition that is ingrained in our community. The story of this school is as beautiful as the building itself, and I am grateful for Stantec’s partnership to build a school that reflects our community values.” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of schools for Temple ISD.
The TASA/TASB Exhibit of School Architecture in collaboration with the A4LE - Southern Region Foundation will showcase 43 projects at txEDCON 2025, the TASA/TASB Convention, in Houston September 12-13. The projects are also featured in the online exhibit at https://texasschoolarchitecture.org/.