Awards & Events - Reflections Arts Program

National PTA Reflections Awards

PTA Reflections program is a multi-layered art contest offering local, district/council/region, state and national levels of recognition. Reflections provides unique opportunities to celebrate and recognize student artists for their artistic skills, creative vision and unique interpretation on the theme.

Why celebrating the arts matters?

Dedicated celebrations and recognition for student achievement in the arts grows ’ confidence, provides opportunity for schools and families to connect and deepen community ties. Celebrations help communicate the critical value of arts education in our schools and provides a platform to show school leaders, policy makers and community leaders the impact of learning through the arts.

Stay Tuned: 2025-2026 National Winners

National-level Reflections awardees for the "I Belong!" program will be announced in May 2026.

National Level Reflections Review and Awards

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.

After review, National PTA awards over 200 student artists across the arts categories and divisions. Students are eligible for Awards of Excellence and Merit and seven students with the top Outstanding Interpretation Award. National-level winners are announced annually on May 1 on National PTA websites and social media. Direct outreach is sent to winning student artists by National PTA.

Reflections Prizes

Based on the award(s) earned, 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

Using the students artwork, title and artist statement, along with relevant details, Reflections 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 of Theme: 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

Visit the Craft an Entry page to find details about each arts category and tips to help students develop an impactful title and artist statement and use the Reflections scoring criteria to create a stand-out entry.

Craft an
Entry

Annual Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant

Curious how past grantees have used the grant funds?

Read this Our Children article to learn how our 2024 Grantees supported arts education and Reflections in their community.

Contest Update from National PTA

Beginning in April 2026, the Reflections Theme Search Contest will be on hiatus. The time will be used by National PTA to explore improvements to the contest to best serve participants and PTAs.

Questions? Email I nfo@PTA.org.

Current and Upcoming Themes

PTA Reflections themes are selected two years in advance. Check out our current theme and plan for the future.

2026-2027 Theme

The 2024 Annual Theme Search Contest winner was 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.

2027-2028 Theme

Congratulations to the most recent winner of the Annual Theme Search Contest: Khadiya Kenzhegulova from Beech Hill Elementary PTA in South Carolina! Khadiya's submission, "reams Build Tomorrow", will be the 2027-2028 Reflections theme.

Previous National PTA Reflections Student Arts Celebrations

2024-2025 Accepting Imperfection Reflections Program

From 40 state PTA congresses, National PTA recognized over 200 student artworks inspired by the 2024-2025 Reflections program theme, "Accepting Imperfection."

Explore the our virtual exhibit and Artist Spotlights celebrating our national winners at PTA.org/AcceptingImperfection.

Learn More

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...