Matilda "Tillie" Hickman - Trustee (District 5)

Matilda “Tillie” Hickman currently serves as Trustee for District 4 and is the Immediate Past President of the Beaumont ISD Board of Trustees. First appointed to the Board in August 2020, she was elected to a full term in May 2021 and re-elected unopposed in May 2025. A lifelong educator, district administrator, and advocate for academic excellence, Mrs. Hickman brings decades of experience and leadership to the Board.

A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Mrs. Hickman earned both her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Master of Arts in English from McNeese State University, where she also served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. Her teaching career began in Vinton, Louisiana, and later took her to Germany, where she taught English and government at the U.S. Army Education Center and served as President of the Officers’ Wives Club.

Upon moving to Beaumont with her husband, Bennie Hickman, she began teaching journalism and English at Hebert High School. She went on to serve in a variety of instructional roles across the district, including AP English, journalism, and French, and played a key role in developing a unique AP English/Journalism course to better serve students' interests and academic goals.

Her expertise in English Language instruction also led her to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) at Louisiana State University and later in Beaumont ISD, where she remained a fixture in classrooms until 1991. That year, she transitioned into educational leadership, serving as BISD’s Secondary English Supervisor, where her work contributed to a double-digit increase in student writing scores. She later became Assistant Principal and then Principal at Odom Academy, where she founded the Pegasus Magnet Program for gifted and talented middle school students. Mrs. Hickman retired from BISD in 2018 after a distinguished 47-year career in education.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Mrs. Hickman is deeply committed to civic service and cultural enrichment in Beaumont. She has chaired major community events, including the Symphony Women’s League’s Symphony of Trees and the Heritage Society’s Spindletop Boom Days. Her board service spans a wide range of organizations, including the Women’s League, Symphony of Southeast Texas, Heritage Society, YWCA, Junior League of Beaumont, and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’ Gallery Guild.

Mrs. Hickman also served for over a decade on the Board of Directors for the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, where she rose from Regional Director to President. She is a founding member and former President of the Beaumont Children’s Museum and was honored as the Junior League of Beaumont’s Sustainer of the Year in 2009.

She currently serves on the boards of the Symphony of Southeast Texas (as Immediate Past President), the Edison Museum, the Beaumont Public Schools Foundation, and the Tyrrell Historical Library Association.

With a legacy rooted in student achievement, gifted education, and community development, Mrs. Hickman continues to serve BISD with vision, compassion, and a steadfast belief in the power of public education.