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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership |
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School is commemorating in the 2007-2008 school year its fourth |
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year of providing an outstanding education to area youth, and this |
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occasion provides a welcome opportunity to recognize the school as |
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well as its namesake, the Honorable Irma Rangel; and |
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WHEREAS, Opened in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas in the |
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fall of 2004, the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School |
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is a magnet program of the Dallas Independent School District; |
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first serving young women in grades seven and eight, the school's |
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goal is to add a grade with each school year until the 2008-2009 |
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school year, when students from grades seven through 12 will be |
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accommodated; loosely affiliated with the Young Women's Leadership |
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School in Harlem, it is the first all-girls public school in Dallas |
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and part of a move that allows educators to focus on the different |
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ways boys and girls learn; and |
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WHEREAS, Through leadership seminars, weekly advisory |
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meetings, and partnerships with educational and cultural |
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organizations, the Dallas school provides students with a rigorous |
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course of study that prepares them for college and addresses their |
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developmental needs; teachers work with students following a |
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project-oriented curriculum that emphasizes math, science, and |
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technology, but also offers ample learning opportunities in foreign |
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languages and humanities; in addition to providing an excellent |
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academic curriculum, the school encourages students to develop a |
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strong sense of ethics and civic responsibility and to become |
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leaders in their community; and |
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WHEREAS, It is fitting that such an admirable and progressive |
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institution be named for Irma Rangel, who was a trailblazer and one |
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of the leading proponents of the state's efforts to improve public |
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school and higher education systems; Ms. Rangel taught for 14 years |
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in Texas, California, and Venezuela before changing careers and |
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earning a degree at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio; after |
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working as an assistant district attorney for two years in Corpus |
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Christi, she returned to her hometown of Kingsville in 1973 to open |
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her own law practice; and |
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WHEREAS, When Ms. Rangel won a seat in the house of |
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representatives in 1976, she became the first Hispanic woman |
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elected to the Texas Legislature; she spent more than 26 years in |
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the Texas House and was the fifth most-senior member of this body at |
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the time of her death in 2003; while serving in the house, she |
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sponsored legislation establishing a pharmacy school for Texas A&M |
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University--Kingsville, now known as the Irma Lerma Rangel College |
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of Pharmacy; and |
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WHEREAS, The first Mexican American woman to be appointed |
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chair of a house committee, Representative Rangel was named chair |
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of the House Committee on Higher Education in 1995, and she served |
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in that role for four consecutive legislative sessions; she was |
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also the first woman elected chair of the Mexican American |
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Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American to receive the |
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G. J. Sutton Award from the Legislative Black Caucus; and |
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WHEREAS, A passionate advocate for the poor, the needy, and |
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the underserved, Irma Rangel was a true Texas pioneer who worked |
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tirelessly to make a college education accessible to all citizens, |
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and it is indeed appropriate that an important part of her legacy |
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lies with the outstanding young women who are attending the school |
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that bears her name; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the rich and accomplished life of |
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the Honorable Irma Rangel and extend to the students of the Irma |
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Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School sincere best wishes |
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for success in all their future endeavors; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |
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Alonzo |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 148 was adopted by the House on |
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February 22, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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