San Angelo ISD Communications Team Earns Top Honors at State Conference

San Angelo ISD’s Communications Team earned the highest level of statewide recognition at the 2026 Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) Conference, receiving the organization’s top honor — the Platinum Award — and setting a record by earning three Crystal Commendation Awards.

Only one Platinum Award is presented statewide each year, and this year San Angelo ISD was selected as the recipient. In addition, the district earned three of the nine Crystal Commendation Awards presented statewide — the most ever awarded to a district in a single year in the history of TSPRA’s Star Awards program.

The award-winning Communications Team includes Shannon Schwartz, Executive Director of Communications; Sun Cha, Director of Community Relations; Jack Wilcox, Creative Director; and Alba Banuelos, Secretary.

In total, the team received eleven honors recognizing work produced during the previous school year: one Platinum Award, three Crystal Commendation Awards, one Best of Category Award and six Gold Star Awards. The awards were announced at TSPRA’s 64th annual Star Awards Celebration on February 18, 2026, in Galveston, Texas.

TSPRA’s annual Star Awards program recognizes excellence in school public relations across Texas, honoring work in print, electronic and visual communications across 47 categories.

San Angelo ISD Awards

The SAISD Communications Team was honored with the following awards: 

Platinum Award 

• Comprehensive Communications Campaigns for the November 2024 TRE and May 2025 Bond Elections

Crystal Commendation Awards

• San Angelo ISD Photography Portfolio (Crystal Category: Photography Portfolio)
• Bond 2025 Voter Information Campaign (Crystal Category: Bond Election)
• San Angelo READS! Back-to-School Pop-Up (Crystal Category: School/Community Partnership)

Best of Category Awards

• San Angelo READS! Back-to-School Pop-Up (Category: Special Event)​

Gold Star Awards

• PAYS Graduation Speech - “From Dropout to Difference Maker” (Category: Specialty/Novelty Writing)
• “Honoring a Hero – Vietnam Veteran Receives His High School Diploma” (Category: Special Event)
• San Angelo READS! Back-to-School Pop-Up (Category: Special Event)
• Central High School’s “The Fillin’ Station” (Category: Video – Feature Story)
• Bond 2025 Website (Category: Website – Template Driven Design)
• Prop A 2024 Website (Category: Website – Template Driven Design)

Understanding the TSPRA Awards

The Texas School Public Relations Association recognizes communications excellence through a tiered awards system that honors both individual work and comprehensive campaigns.

• Gold Star Award - The Gold Star Award recognizes exceptional work within a specific category. Gold Star entries are considered among the best communications work produced by school districts across Texas, achieving their intended purpose with outstanding creativity, craft and effectiveness.
• Best of Category - Judges select Best of Category entries from all Gold Star recipients to recognize the strongest submission in each category. Best of Category awards are presented by division, with districts competing based on enrollment size.
• Crystal Commendation Award - The Crystal Commendation Awards recognize comprehensive communications programs or campaigns that demonstrate strategic planning, clear goals, effective implementation and measurable impact. There are nine Crystal categories, and all entries are judged together regardless of district size or division. Only one Crystal Commendation Award is presented per category.
• Platinum Award - The Platinum Award honors a year-long project that exhibits the highest standards of excellence according to research, analysis, communication and evaluation. It is TSPRA’s highest award for excellence in a total public relations program. Only one Platinum Award is presented statewide each year, and all entries are judged together — not by school district size or division.

“These recognitions reflect the incredible stories unfolding every day across San Angelo ISD,” said Executive Director of Communications Shannon Schwartz. “Our communications team is honored to help share the work of our students, staff, and community, and this recognition affirms the importance of telling those stories with purpose, accuracy, and compassion.”

The Communications Team serves as a connection between the school district and our community, facilitating effective communications between school staff, administrators, the Board of Trustees, students, parents and community members. They support district initiatives and community engagement through management and coordination of communications. 

To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD and see more work by the Communications Team that celebrates all the ways our students are smart and the impactful work of our SAISD Difference Makers, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. SAISD videos like the award-winning ones above, may also be viewed on our official SAISD YouTube channel.