The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University announced today that drama teacher Roshunda Jones-Koumba of G.W. Carver Magnet High School in Houston will receive the 2022 Excellence in Theatre Education Award.
A panel of theatre experts from The American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League and Carnegie Mellon selected Jones-Koumba from a nationwide call for entries. Impassioned endorsements from students past and present, along with peers from the arts community in Houston — such as The C. Lee Turner Black Theatre Educators' Caucus — helped make Jones-Koumba a standout.
As one student put it: "I have been in awe of her vision; her tireless work ethic; the countless hours; blood, sweat, tears, money, food that she's given to her students in the community around her. And she taught us, usually Black and Brown kids from inner-city communities, that we could do anything."