Awards & Events - Reflections Arts Program

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National PTA Reflections Awards

Each year, students in Pre-K through Grade 12 are invited to create and submit original works of art in the areas of Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography and Visual Arts. Students participate in the appropriate division for their grade: Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2); Intermediate (Grades 3-5); Middle School (Grades 6-8); High School (Grades 9-12); and Accessible Arts** (All grades welcome).

Based on State PTA rules and guidelines, these works of art may be submitted for state and national level awards and recognition opportunities.

**Students who identify as having a disability and may receive services under IDEA or ADA: Section 504 may enter in the Accessible Arts Division (formerly the Special Artist division) or grade division most closely aligned to their support needs.

2024-2025 Accepting Imperfection Reflections Awards

Congratulations National Reflections Winners

From 40 state PTA congresses, National PTA received over 850 student entries inspired by the 2024-2025 Reflections theme, Accepting Imperfection. After two rounds of national level review, we are thrilled to recognize over 200 student artists with Awards of Excellence and Merit and honor seven students with the top Outstanding Interpretation Award.

Explore the full list of awardees and join us in congratulating all 200+ national-level Reflections winners.

2024-2025 PTA Reflections Winners

Outstanding Interpretation Awardees

National PTA recognizes the student artworks that achieved the highest scores for interpretation of the Reflections theme with the Award of Outstanding Interpretation, the top national-level Reflections honor.

Join us in congratulating these seven students as the 2024-2025 Outstanding Interpretation Awardees—don't forget to check out their artwork in our Award of Outstanding Interpretation Virtual Exhibit:

Quinlan Tian | Visual Arts: "Find Joy in the Journey"

Adrit Pradeepkumar | Music Composition: "Stars and Scribbles"

Jessica Awuah | Literature: "Tpyo"

Rowan Zollars | Dance Choreography: "What is it to be Perfect?"

Edie Whitehead | Film Production: "The Mistakes"

Niko Gomez | Photography: "Accepting Imperfections"

Isabella Juarez-Padilla | Visual Arts-Accessible Artist Division: "Unapologetically Imperfect"

Check out their artwork in our Award of Outstanding Interpretation Virtual Exhibit!

National Awards and Prizes

National PTA has reached out directly to winning student artists by National PTA to share notice of the awards and outline prizes. Students should expect to receive national-level awards by the end of summer.

2024-2025 National Reflections Virtual Exhibit

This virtual exhibit recognizes all 200+ student artists who won national-level awards for their PTA Reflections artwork, inspired by the theme, Accepting Imperfection. Use the arrows to move through the pieces and visit the full album to read each inspiring artist statement.

Dance Choreography

Film Production

Literature

Music Composition

Photography

Visual Arts

Help Us Celebrate These Talented Artists

Stay Tuned!

Throughout the year, the National PTA will honor the all the talented national winners from the 2025-2026 PTA Reflections program. Stay tuned to this page and follow National PTA on social media for updates on future celebrations.

Download and Share

Use these Reflections winner graphics (right-click on image and save as) and use the template messaging in this promotion toolkit for PTAs to spread the word about these awesome student artists. Remember to tag @NationalPTA and use #PTAReflections to share your celebration photos and artwork with us!

Congrats to all Reflections Winners

Congratulations Graphic

I'm a Reflections Winner

Student Graphic

PTA Reflections Winner

PTA Graphic

PTSA Reflections Winner

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National Level Reflections Review and Awards

Reflections Awards and Prizes

Each year, National PTA awards over 200 student artists with national-level Awards of Excellence and Merit and honors seven students with the top Outstanding Interpretation Award. National-level winners are announced annually on May 1.

Direct communication is provided to winning student artists by National PTA to share notice of the awards and outline prizes. Based on their award, student artists receive the following prizes:

Merit Award: Bronze Medal; Certificate of Merit; Work featured in the virtual exhibition

Award of Excellence: $200 Young Artist Scholarship; Silver Medal; Certificate of Excellence; Work featured in the virtual exhibition

Outstanding Interpretation Award: $800 Young Artist Scholarship; Gold Medal; Certificate of Outstanding Interpretation; Work featured in the virtual exhibition; $200 Prize for Local PTA Unit

Reflections Review Criteria

Student entries submitted to the national level go through two rounds of review by arts professionals from across the country. In Reflections, judges prioritize the artist's interpretation of the theme, as expressed through their original artwork, title and artist statement.

Including the student's interpretation of the Reflections theme, judges will consider the following criteria during the evaluation process:

Creativity: How creative and original the piece is in its conception of the theme and its presentation.

Technique: The level of skill demonstrated in the basic principles/techniques of the arts area.

Interpretation: How closely the piece relates to the theme, based on the work itself and the artist statement.

Tips for Creating an Award-Winning Reflections Entry

Along with the information provided by your local and state PTA, National PTA provides helpful information on our Craft an Entry page to help students create standout entries. Along with details about each of the arts categories, National PTA provides tips and tricks to help student artists:

Create an impactful title and artist statement.

Use the Reflections scoring criteria during the creative process.

Craft an
Entry

Previous National PTA Reflections Student Arts Celebrations

2022-2023 Show Your Voice! Reflections Program

The 2023 Virtual Outstanding Interpretation Reflections Winners Celebration honors the top seven national winners from the 2022-2023 Show Your Voice! Reflections program.

The 2024 Virtual Reflections Student Arts Showcase featured over 20 short interviews with select student artists—and a few special guests—discussing their award-winning artwork from the 2022-2023 Show Your Voice! Reflections program

2021-2022 I Will Change the World By... Reflections Program

The 2022 Virtual Outstanding Interpretation Reflections Winners Celebration honors the top seven national winners from the 2021-2022 I Will Change the World By... Reflections program.

The 2023 Reflections Showcase featured a selection of artists and recognized all our national-level winning artists from the 2021-2022 National PTA Reflections program, I Will Change the World By...

2020-2021 I Matter Because... Reflections Program

The 2021 National PTA Convention awards program celebrates the Outstanding Interpretation Reflections winners for the 2020-2021 I Matter Because... Reflections program.

The 2022 Virtual Reflections Student Arts Showcase celebrates a selection of Reflections national winners from the 2020-2021 I Matter Because... program. National PTA is also proud to provide the 2022 Virtual Reflections Showcase in Spanish.

Annual Theme Search Contest

Congratulations 2024 Reflections Theme Search Winner!

The most recent winner of the Annual Theme Search Contest is Sophia Partola from Wilton High School PTSA in Connecticut! Sophia's submission, What My Culture Means to Me will be the 2026-2027 Reflections theme. Stay tuned for more information about Sophia and her winning submission!

Help Inspire a Future Reflections Program

Every year, National PTA hosts our annual Reflections Theme Search Contest to select one student theme to inspire student artists as they participate in a future PTA Reflections program. The national winning student will receive a $100 award and national recognition. Themes are selected two years in advance.

We’re looking for the most original theme ideas, so past themes and duplicate submissions will not be considered. Explore the past 50+ years of winning themes for reference and inspiration!

How to Participate

Students can participate and submit entries following the process and guidelines outlined by their state PTA. Each state PTA may submit up to five student-created themes to National PTA by 11:59 p.m. PST on December 1. National PTA only consider entries submitted by state PTAs.

For details around how to participate, including when and how to submit entries, interested participants, parents or PTAs should reach out to their state PTA or visit their state PTA Reflections webpage.

Current and Upcoming Themes

2024-2025 Theme

Thanks to Paige Opaska from Barbara Bush Middle School PTA in Texas who submitted the 2024-2025 Reflections theme Accepting Imperfection. Read this blog spotlight to meet Paige and learn about her inspiration.

2025-2026 Theme

The 2023 Annual Theme Search Contest winner was Ben Morgan from Lewis and Clark Middle School PTSA in Idaho! Ben’s submission, I Belong! will be the 2025-2026 Reflections theme. Learn more about Ben and the inspiration behind the theme.

2026-2027 Theme

Congratulations to the most recent winner of the Annual Theme Search Contest: Sophia Partola from Wilton High School PTSA in Connecticut! Sophia's submission, What My Culture Means to Me will be the 2026-2027 Reflections theme. Stay tuned for more information about Sophia and her winning submission!

Awards