Roshunda Jones-Koumba, the theater director at G.W. Carver Magnet High School in Houston, Texas, will receive the 2022 Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the Tony Awards in New York City, the Washington Post reports.
The prestigious award presented by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University honors U.S. educators from K-12th grade who have "demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession."
Honorees are selected by the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon, and other leaders from the theater industry from a pool of candidates submitted by the public.
The award includes a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala along with a $10,000 prize.
Jones-Koumba expressed her gratitude for the recognition of her work in a statement.
"In theatre we accept all, so you're not afraid to be yourself. And that gives you confidence to do anything you want, enables you to work with different people, and to be a better all-around person," Jones-Koumba said. "Theatre is life. I'm very grateful to The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University for this honor."
An acclaimed educator, Jones-Koumba received the Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Teacher of the Year Award as well as the International Thespian Society Inspirational Theatre Educator Award in 2021.
"I'm an advocate for arts education everywhere. It doesn't matter how much funding or support you have; magic can be created with determination and creativity," she said after winning the Schwartz award. "Musical theatre has a unique way of bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences to create theater magic."
A graduate of Prairie View A&M University, with a bachelor’s degree in theatre and a master’s of education in administration, Jones-Koumba was inducted into the Texas Thespians Hall of Fame and received the inaugural Arts Educator of the Year from the TUTS Leading Ladies organization in 2020. She was also named TxETA’s 2017 Educator of the Year and Aldine ISD Carver High School’s teacher of the year in 2009 and 2014, respectively.
For her distinguished work in the arts, the city of Wharton, Texas, declared June 28 as a day to honor her.
The 75th Annual Tony Awards will be held on June 12, 2022.
