Allen ISD Students Shine With State And National Honors

From a nationally recognized art entry to a strong showing at a state robotics competition, the August Allen ISD Board of Trustees meeting highlighted the range of talent across the district. Trustees also thanked Green Elementary sixth graders for leading the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting.

Young Artist Earns State And National Awards

Fourth grader Haochen Ye from Vaughan Elementary was honored for his standout submission in the annual Reflections Art Contest. His piece, titled “I have a different mind”, received the Texas PTA Outstanding Interpretation Award, a distinction given to only seven students statewide in 2025.

Haochen’s work also earned the Award of Excellence at the national level, placing him among the top young artists across the country. His entry was submitted in the Accessible Arts category and was selected from thousands of entries.

Robotics Team Earns Second At State

The Board also recognized the Allen ISD FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team for finishing second at the UIL Robotics State Championship in Corpus Christi. The group included students from Lowery Freshman Center and Allen High School, with sponsorship from Julie Kiel and Chris Brooks.

The competition tested students’ ability to design and program classroom-scale robots capable of both autonomous and driver-controlled actions. Most of the team members were freshmen at the time, supported by upperclassmen mentors.

Team members included sophomores Arnesh Jayaram, Aryan Padarthi, Ashray Shah, Cooper Bailey, Ethan Posso, Evan Wang, Heidi Hayoon Jeong, Ivan Smith, Johnathan Luu, Kevin Ye, Noah Clark, Saraaga Madasu, Shyam Devanathan and Michael Langford. Upperclassmen Caleb Clark and Seoyoon Jeong served as mentors.

“Congratulations Haochen, and to the team and their sponsors on this extraordinary recognition!” read an official statement from Allen ISD.

Don't miss anything Local. Sign up for our free newsletter.