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H.R. No. 693
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Students from the inaugural class of the Irma Lerma
Rangel Young Women's Leadership School are visiting the State
Capitol, and their presence in the chamber on this day, March 10,
2005, provides a most welcome opportunity to recognize their school
as well as its namesake, the Honorable Irma Rangel; and
WHEREAS, Opened in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas in the
fall of 2004, the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School
is the newest of the Dallas Independent School District's magnet
programs; currently serving young women in grades seven and eight,
the school will add a grade with each school year until the
2008-2009 school year, when students from grades seven through 12
will be accommodated; loosely affiliated with the Young Women's
Leadership School in Harlem, it is the first all-girls public
school in Dallas and part of a move that allows educators to focus
on the different ways boys and girls learn; and
WHEREAS, Through leadership seminars, weekly advisory
meetings, and partnerships with educational and cultural
organizations, the Dallas school provides students with a rigorous
course of study that prepares them for college and addresses their
developmental needs; teachers work with students following a
project-oriented curriculum that emphasizes math, science, and
technology, but also offers ample learning opportunities in foreign
languages and humanities; in addition to providing an excellent
academic curriculum, the school encourages students to develop a
strong sense of ethics and civic responsibility and to become
leaders in their community; and
WHEREAS, It is fitting that such an admirable and progressive
institution be named for Irma Rangel, who was a trailblazer and one
of the leading proponents of the state's efforts to improve public
school and higher education systems; Ms. Rangel taught for 14 years
in Texas, California, and Venezuela before changing careers and
earning a degree at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio; after
working as an assistant district attorney for two years in Corpus
Christi, she returned to her hometown of Kingsville in 1973 to open
her own law practice; and
WHEREAS, When Ms. Rangel won a seat in the house of
representatives in 1976, she became the first Hispanic woman
elected to the Texas Legislature; she spent more than 26 years in
the Texas House and was the fifth most-senior member of this body at
the time of her death in 2003; while serving in the house, she
sponsored legislation establishing a pharmacy school for Texas A&M
University--Kingsville, now known as the Irma Lerma Rangel College
of Pharmacy; and
WHEREAS, The first Mexican American woman to be appointed
chair of a house committee, Representative Rangel was named chair
of the House Committee on Higher Education in 1995, and she served
in that role for four consecutive legislative sessions; she was
also the first woman elected chair of the Mexican American
Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American to receive the
G. J. Sutton Award from the Legislative Black Caucus; and
WHEREAS, A passionate advocate for the poor, the needy, and
the underserved, Irma Rangel was a true Texas pioneer who worked
tirelessly to make a college education accessible to all citizens,
and it is indeed appropriate that an important part of her legacy
lies with the outstanding young women who are attending the school
that bears her name; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the rich and accomplished life of
the Honorable Irma Rangel and extend to the students of the Irma
Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School visiting with us today
sincere best wishes for success in their new school and with all
their future endeavors; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Alonzo Goolsby
Hodge Escobar
Gallego Anchia
Hunter Jones of Lubbock
Leibowitz Luna
McClendon Morrison
Naishtat Seaman
Solis Solomons
Craddick Geren Menendez
Allen of Harris Giddings Merritt
Allen of Dallas Gonzales Miller
Alonzo Gonzalez Toureilles Moreno of Harris
Anchia Goodman Moreno of El Paso
Anderson Goolsby Morrison
Bailey Griggs Mowery
Baxter Grusendorf Naishtat
Berman Guillen Nixon
Blake Haggerty Noriega
Bohac Hamilton Oliveira
Bonnen Hamric Olivo
Branch Hardcastle Orr
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Otto
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Paxton
Burnam Hegar Pena
Callegari Herrero Phillips
Campbell Hilderbran Pickett
Casteel Hill Pitts
Castro Hochberg Puente
Chavez Hodge Quintanilla
Chisum Homer Raymond
Coleman Hope Reyna
Cook of Navarro Hopson Riddle
Cook of Colorado Howard Ritter
Corte Hughes Rodriguez
Crabb Hunter Rose
Crownover Hupp Seaman
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Dallas Jackson Smith of Harris
Dawson Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solis
Denny Keel Solomons
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Strama
Driver Keffer of Eastland Straus
Dukes King of Parker Swinford
Dunnam King of Zavala Talton
Dutton Kolkhorst Taylor
Edwards Krusee Thompson
Eiland Kuempel Truitt
Eissler Laney Turner
Elkins Laubenberg Uresti
Escobar Leibowitz Van Arsdale
Farabee Luna Veasey
Farrar Madden Villarreal
Flores Martinez Vo
Flynn Martinez Fischer West
Frost McCall Wong
Gallego McClendon Woolley
Gattis McReynolds Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 693 was adopted by the House on March
10, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House