A&M Consolidated Middle School teacher receives Humanities Texas Leadership Award
Nov. 30, 2023—Caitlin Baumgarten, eighth-grade U.S. History teacher at A&M Consolidated Middle School, was selected as the recipient of the Humanities Texas Julius Glickman Educational Leadership Award, which recognizes exceptional leadership in the educational field.
District Director to Congressman Michael McCaul Destinee Vargas and Humanities Texas board member Carlos Blanton presented Baumgarten with the award during a presentation at A&M Consolidated Middle School on Nov. 29. Along with the award, Baumgarten received a $5,000 cash award, with an additional $1,000 for the school to purchase instructional materials.
In addition to creating an engaging classroom environment and bringing history to life for her students, Baumgarten finds passion in helping other social studies teachers reach their students in new, exciting ways through her co-founded podcast, History Teachers Club.
When asked about the impact of this award, Baumgarten said, “This recognition represents the culmination of my journey towards achieving the goals I had set for myself, inspired by the transformative power of education and the humanities.”
“We history teachers love to say that our lessons ‘make history come alive’ but I have never quite seen that actually happen so much as it does in Caitlin’s classroom,” remarked Daniel Lewer, podcast co-host and social studies teacher. “Her effort to make history truly come alive go beyond the room transformations and costumes. It fundamentally rests in the engaging lesson and rich content that her students have to wrestle with in her classroom.”
Humanities Texas presents annual statewide awards to encourage excellence in teaching and recognize Texas classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development and extracurricular programming.
“Humanities Texas is pleased to recognize the achievements of Caitlin Baumgarten and A&M Consolidated Middle School,” said Humanities Texas Executive Director Eric Lupfer. “Caitlin inspires and motivates her students to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
Humanities Texas is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its mission is to advance education through programs that improve the quality of classroom teaching, support libraries and museums and create opportunities for lifelong learning for all Texans.