79R14663 JNC-D

By:  Wong                                                         H.R. No. 1344



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Houston's Sydney Lanier Middle School and M. B. 
Lamar High School have been named International Baccalaureate 
Schools; and
	WHEREAS, This designation places these Houston ISD campuses 
among an exceptional group of 1,485 schools worldwide and 
establishes that the institutions are committed to the exemplary 
academic performance and overall success of their students; and
	WHEREAS, The designation is conferred by the International 
Baccalaureate Organization, a nonprofit foundation headquartered 
in Geneva, Switzerland, that works to develop inquiring, 
knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better 
and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and 
respect; and
	WHEREAS, The organization's Middle Years Programme aims to 
provide students ages 11 to 16 with discipline, skills, and 
challenging standards, but also with creativity and flexibility, 
and stresses development of a personal values system by which young 
people may guide their own lives as thoughtful members of local 
communities and the larger world; and
	WHEREAS, For students in their final two years of high 
school, the Diploma Programme emphasizes critical thinking, 
intercultural understanding, and exposure to a variety of points of 
view; it has a reputation for rigorous assessment and giving 
graduates access to the world's leading universities; and
	WHEREAS, With the able guidance of Central District 
superintendent Ray Reiner, the students and faculty at Sydney 
Lanier Middle School and M. B. Lamar High School have performed 
admirably in their quest for educational excellence, and their 
superlative achievement truly merits special recognition; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby congratulate the students, teachers, and 
administrators at Sydney Lanier Middle School and M. B. Lamar High 
School, whose outstanding efforts contributed to their schools' 
selection as International Baccalaureate Schools; and, be it 
further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for each school as an expression of high regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives.