R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, For 50 years, the Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf 1-2 Children has been helping deaf and hearing-impaired children learn 1-3 to communicate more effectively; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Founded in 1947 by Dela White, Sunshine Cottage 1-5 began with seven students and one teacher and was originally housed 1-6 in a small caretaker's cottage near San Antonio's Trinity 1-7 University; Mrs. White started the fledgling school in response to 1-8 her daughter Tuleta's hearing impairment, determined that she would 1-9 one day hear her daughter speak; and 1-10 WHEREAS, The Junior League of San Antonio provided the first 1-11 funding for the school, a $1,500 donation for the first three years 1-12 of operation; other early donations included playground equipment, 1-13 hearing aids, and several cans of bright yellow paint that was soon 1-14 applied to the cottage, prompting the christening of the school as 1-15 "The Sunshine Cottage"; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Two years later, after demonstrating the tremendous 1-17 progress made by the school's students, Mrs. White petitioned local 1-18 benefactors and raised $160,000, which was used to finance the 1-19 construction of a new building; the school, which is open to all 1-20 children, regardless of their ability to pay, continues to rely on 1-21 the generosity of the local citizenry and to this day has operated 1-22 without receiving any government funding; and 1-23 WHEREAS, This is not the only unique trait of the Sunshine 1-24 Cottage; rather than teaching sign language, the school's teachers 2-1 prefer to develop what hearing the students possess and to teach 2-2 them to speak, enhancing their skills with intensive lip-reading 2-3 training; another unusual feature that has recently been 2-4 incorporated into the program is the integration of hearing 2-5 students, as it has been realized that children learn language 2-6 better through their peers; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Mrs. White's dedication and enthusiasm are truly 2-8 remarkable, and after 50 years she shows no signs of reducing her 2-9 involvement in the day-to-day operations of the school; as the 2-10 Sunshine Cottage's international reputation grows, this remarkable 2-11 woman can take great satisfaction in the knowledge that the school 2-12 continues to lead the way in providing a successful, alternative 2-13 educational environment for deaf and hearing-impaired children; 2-14 now, therefore, be it 2-15 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 2-16 Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Sunshine 2-17 Cottage School for Deaf Children and extend sincere thanks to Dela 2-18 White for her many years of service to this fine institution; and, 2-19 be it further 2-20 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-21 prepared for Dela White and the Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf 2-22 Children as an expression of highest regard by the Texas House of 2-23 Representatives. Puente Laney Gutierrez Oliveira Alexander Haggerty Olivo Allen Hamric Palmer Alvarado Hartnett Patterson Averitt Hawley Pickett Bailey Heflin Pitts Berlanga Hernandez Place Bonnen Hightower Price Bosse Hilbert Puente Brimer Hilderbran Rabuck Burnam Hill Ramsay Carter Hinojosa Rangel Chavez Hirschi Raymond Chisum Hochberg Reyna of Bexar Christian Hodge Reyna of Dallas Clark Holzheauser Rhodes Coleman Horn Rodriguez Cook Howard Roman Corte Hunter Sadler Counts Hupp Seaman Crabb Isett Serna Craddick Jackson Shields Cuellar Janek Siebert Culberson Jones of Lubbock Smith Danburg Jones of Dallas Smithee Davila Junell Solis Davis Kamel Solomons Delisi Keel Staples Denny Keffer Stiles Driver King Swinford Dukes Krusee Talton Dunnam Kubiak Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Lewis of Tarrant Tillery Ehrhardt Lewis of Orange Torres Eiland Longoria Turner of Coleman Elkins Luna Turner of Harris Farrar McCall Uher Finnell McClendon Van de Putte Flores McReynolds Walker Gallego Madden West Galloway Marchant Williams Garcia Maxey Williamson Giddings Merritt Wilson Glaze Moffat Wise Goodman Moreno Wohlgemuth Goolsby Mowery Wolens Gray Naishtat Woolley Greenberg Nixon Yarbrough Grusendorf Oakley Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 241 was adopted by the House on February 27, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House