• The Houston Association of Retired Teachers (HART)

    A local chapter of the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA)

    Meeting location and dates:

    Episcopal Church of the Epiphany

    9600 S. Gessner, Houston 77071

    9:30 a.m. Social Time

    10:00 a.m. Meeting Time

    • September 18, 2026 General Meeting
    • October 9, 2026 General Meeting
    • November 13, 2026 General Meeting
    • December 11, 2026 HART Holiday Luncheon at the Junior League

    Mark Your Calendar -

    We're not going back to school party!

    Monday, August 10, 2026

    2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Mia's Table in Bellaire

    5413 Bellaire Blvd

    Order and pay for your food and drinks at the counter.

    Plenty of free parking and free ice cream.

    Bring your friends and have a good time on the first day of school!

    We Hope to See You There!

  • Why Join HART and TRTA:

    • To stay informed on our retirement benefits and health insurance;
    • To support HART’s projects such as Books For Children, HART Scholarship Fund, HART Continuing Education Fund for Teachers, Kids' Meals and the Stilwell Residence for Retired Educators;
    • To participate in monthly field trips to places of interest in the greater Houston area;
    • To access additional insurance, discounts and travel through AMBA;
    • To meet new friends, connect with old friends and colleagues, and most importantly, to have fun!

  • Membership

    WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN THE HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED TEACHERS?

    • An annuitant or a beneficiary receiving an annuity from a teacher retirement system can become a member of HART and TRTA upon payment of local dues and state dues.
    • Any person interested in public education and willing to work to achieve the purposes of TRTA upon payment of local dues and state dues.

    MEMBERSHIP IS $50.00 PER YEAR
    $15.00 of the fee is for HART membership.
    $35.00 of the fee is for Texas Retired Teachers Association membership.

    Use one of the following three methods to join:

    • Click here to download an application that you can mail to HART, P.O. Box 6727, Houston, TX 77265-6727
    • Come to any HART monthly meeting and join during the meeting.
    • Join HART/TRTA online below. If you use the online payment method there is an additional $3.00 service charge added to the cost of the yearly membership. This option is only for members who do not auto pay their TRTA dues.

  • To order your membership online, click on the photo below.

  • Two smiling HART women members

    INSIDE LINE

    Make certain that you receive TRTA's Inside Line eMail by Executive Director Tim Lee and learn about issues and events that affect you by CLICKING HERE.

  • Legislative Priorities of HART and TRTA:

    Maintain a solvent TRS pension fund by fully funding statutory contribution rates and using excess staterevenues to help reduce the unfunded liability
    • The TRS defined benefit pension plan is vital to the retirement security of all public education employees and retirees.
    • TRS provides cost-efficient retirement security for plan participants and taxpayers.
    • Reducing the unfunded liability now saves Texas taxpayers significant money in the long term and protects the TRS pension fund.
    Provide a benefit enhancement to help offset the negative impact of inflation
    • TRTA recommends funding a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for TRS retirees when possible or providing a supplemental payment when a COLA is not possible.
    • Retirees living on fixed incomes have been impacted drastically by record inflation over the last decade and
    managing its impact is an ongoing challenge.
    • During the 88th session, the Texas Legislature passed SB 10 and Texas voters approved Prop 9, providing much-needed help to most TRS retirees.
    • The unfortunate reality is that cumulative inflation has eroded the modest pension benefits of all TRS retirees.
    Maintain and protect TRS-Care by fully funding the current statutory contribution rates
    • Continue to provide an affordable healthcare plan for all TRS retirees.

    A group of Hart members at the Texas State Legislature.

    To learn who represents you and how to contact those persons CLICK HERE.

    To learn if you are registered to vote and if your voter registration is up-to-date, CLICK HERE.

  • HART President

    Rosa Espinosa

  • HART Photo Gallery

    Photos & videos from our events

    Volunteering at Kids' Meals
    Holiday Luncheon
    Holiday Luncheon
    Holiday Luncheon 2026
    2025 Holiday Luncheon
    Judy honors flag
    HART dances
    Guests
    Books for Children
    Stilwell's Bob Herndon
    D4 Fall Conference
    Oct25 Marcy and Ella
    Tim Lee
    Enjoying Blue Bell ice cream
    Expanding Horizons
    March 2025 meeting
    March 2025 meeting
    Expanding Horizons
    Books for Children
    Expanding Horizons
    D4 2024 Spring Conference
    We're Not Going Back to School
    We're Not Going Back to School
    HART 5/13/2022 Meeting
    TRTA April 2022 State Conf.
    At the TRTA 2022 State Conf.
    At the TRTA 2022 Conference
    2021 Annual Holiday Luncheon
    2021 Annual Holiday Luncheon
    2021 Annual Holiday Luncheon
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  • HART Sings!

    Section image

    Paul and Sue Ofeld receive the Dr. Kate Bell Memorial "Spirit of Hart" award for their music contributions to the Houston Association of Retired Teachers.

  • HART Projects:

    HART Scholarship Fund, Inc.

    Each spring, the Houston Association of Retired Teachers awards up to five scholarships to junior or senior students who are enrolled in a college of education. We rotate through the following universities: University of Houston, St. Thomas University, Houston Baptist University, Rice University, and Texas Southern University.
    Mail Donations to: HART Scholarship Fund, Inc. P.O. Box 6727Houston 77265-6727. All donations will be acknowledged and are fully tax deductable.

    Thefollowing students received a scholarship of $1500 each for the summer or fall
    semester of 2025:
    • Shakeia Edmonson: Senior, Interdisciplinary Studies, anticipated graduation date is
      5/14/27. Teaching is not just a profession for Sheika. She wants to make a
      difference.
    • Todd Lyons Jr.: Senio, Kinesiology, anticipated graduation date is 12/2025. Todd feels
      that every student should be treated equally and respected.
    • Rickiya Mukes: Junior, English with TCER Concentration, anticipated graduation date is May
      2026. Rickiya wants to create an environment where every voice is heard.
    • AlexisPhillips: Senior, English with TCER, anticipated graduation date is December 2025.
      Alexis wants to inspire hope and build confidence.
    • TycheunneiahWilliams: Junior, Interdisciplinary Studies, anticipated graduation date is 2026. Tycheunneiah wants to create a safe and nurturing environment.
    • The 2026 HART Scholarship recipients from the University of Houston will be announced at the April 11 meeting.

    HART Continuing Education Fund #1

    This Fund was established in the spring of 2001 as an ongoing project of HART. The purpose is to provide continuing education programs, activities and curriculum materials as agreed on by HART and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) on an annual basis. All donations to this fund are tax deductible.
    A $4500 donation was made in December, 2025, to Braeburn Elementary.

    Stilwell Retirement Residence Committee/ Kate Bell Assistance Fund

    The purpose of this committee is to raise money for the Kate Bell Assistance Fund for retired public-school personnel at the Stilwell Retirement Residence in Waco.
    Donations from fundraising at eah meeting are made yearly.

    Books for Children

    Each year the Books for Children Committee chooses a school to receive books, orders the books, and works with the school to distribute the books, one to each student. Other responsibilities include advertising the project and fund raising to sustain the project.
    In May, 2025, over 700 books were distributed went to Ed White Elementary.

    Kids' Meals

    Each Wednesday HART members volunteer together at Kids' Meals, making sandwhiches and lunches for children ages 1-5 who are two young to receive free meals at school. The meals are delivered Monday - Friday by the Kids' Meals organization. Everyone is encouraged to join in, either regularly or on a one-time basis.

  • Contact Us

  • Credits

    Photography - Howard Lindsay, Tom Sanders, Richard A. Smith
    Webmaster - Richard A. Smith
    Immediate Past Webmaster - Tom Sanders
     
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