By Berlanga, Hunter of Nueces, Luna H.R. No. 801 74R10870 SAJ-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is proud to honor 1-2 Jill Scott of Zavala Special Emphasis School for her recent 1-3 selection as Texas Elementary School Teacher of the Year for the 1-4 Corpus Christi area; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Mrs. Scott wanted to become a teacher at an early 1-6 age; both of her parents instilled in her the importance of a good 1-7 education, and as a schoolgirl, she continually volunteered to read 1-8 to younger students and generously served as a peer tutor; and 1-9 WHEREAS, A graduate of Mary Carroll High School, she received 1-10 a scholarship from the Corpus Christi Classroom Teacher Association 1-11 to attend Del Mar College; she later transferred to The University 1-12 of Texas and graduated with honors in 1973; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Mrs. Scott began her distinguished career with the 1-14 Corpus Christi Independent School District as a kindergarten 1-15 teacher in 1973; the following year, she met Billie Watson 1-16 Robinson, who headed the district's Special Education Program for 1-17 Disabled Preschool Children, and was so impressed with the program 1-18 that she changed her focus to special education and embarked on a 1-19 new career path; and 1-20 WHEREAS, One of the pioneers of the district's early 1-21 childhood special education program, she worked tirelessly to 1-22 launch the program on a successful track during its first three 1-23 years; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Deeply committed to her chosen profession, she went 2-1 back to school during this period and earned a master's degree from 2-2 Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi in 1976 and also received 2-3 supervision certification from Corpus Christi State University; and 2-4 WHEREAS, She continued to make many significant contributions 2-5 to her field as the special education consultant for the school 2-6 district; in addition to developing curriculum and supervising 2-7 teachers, she raised public awareness of the district's special 2-8 education programs by addressing a variety of local forums and 2-9 acting as a liaison for preschool and kindergarten students; and 2-10 WHEREAS, A leader in the area of early childhood special 2-11 education, Mrs. Scott returned to the classroom in 1983 and 2-12 graciously offered her program as a model classroom, allowing new 2-13 teachers to observe her techniques; she has sought to share her 2-14 considerable knowledge with many others in workshops across the 2-15 district; and 2-16 WHEREAS, She was instrumental in the success of her school's 2-17 highly acclaimed Early Learning Together program, which allows 2-18 disabled three- and four-year-olds to learn alongside typically 2-19 developing preschoolers, and she also helped establish a computer 2-20 laboratory for students in prekindergarten through the third grade; 2-21 and 2-22 WHEREAS, Well regarded throughout her chosen field, 2-23 Mrs. Scott is an esteemed member of the Council for Exceptional 2-24 Children, the American Federation of Teachers, and Alpha Delta 2-25 Kappa educational sorority, and she has been active with the 2-26 Parent-Teacher Association for 22 years; and 2-27 WHEREAS, Her exceptional service has earned her much acclaim; 3-1 she was honored with the Texas Education Agency's Promising 3-2 Practice Award in 1993, when she was selected as one of 16 "Points 3-3 of Light" in Texas for her inclusive service delivery model for 3-4 speech therapy, and she was doubly honored when her peers at Zavala 3-5 Special Emphasis School named her Teacher of the Year in both 1993 3-6 and 1995; and 3-7 WHEREAS, Mrs. Scott has established herself at the forefront 3-8 of early childhood education issues and has contributed greatly to 3-9 the quality of education in her school district, and her many 3-10 outstanding and innovative efforts are indeed worthy of our highest 3-11 praise and recognition; now, therefore, be it 3-12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 3-13 Legislature hereby commend Jill Scott for her outstanding service 3-14 as an educator and congratulate her on her selection as Texas 3-15 Elementary School Teacher of the Year for the Corpus Christi area; 3-16 and, be it further 3-17 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-18 prepared for Mrs. Scott as an expression of high regard by the 3-19 Texas House of Representatives.