80R12643 JGH-D

By: Hernandez H.R. No. 1496

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Students in today's world are presented with many distractions from their education; exposed to images and music from the popular media that sometimes suggest questionable values, children need guidance in making good choices, and parents often benefit from practical suggestions to create a supportive home environment; and

WHEREAS, "Partners in Learning: Schools and Families Build the Future" was designed to strengthen and enhance the collaboration between schools and families in a student's education, and it was introduced as a 2006-2007 pilot program at Jacinto City Elementary School in the Galena Park Independent School District; the program is based on the premise that school and home are not separate parts of a student's life, but that they may be coordinated to reinforce each other; just as parent participation improves a child's educational achievement, a good education from kindergarten through high school provides students with the foundation for a better life for themselves and their families; and

WHEREAS, Created by Dee Owens, a Harris County businesswoman and community activist, the program benefited from the input of project co-author Dr. Karen Hattaway, a professor of English at San Jacinto College North, from the participation of other leaders from the government, business, and education sectors in Harris County, and from a grant by the Lyondell Corporation; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Owens has created for parents a Partners in Learning notebook, which provides information enabling them to contribute to their children's education; the notebook includes a calendar of topics that the child will be studying, information on the child's anticipated development over the course of the school year, as well as lists of safe Internet sites, medical facilities in the area, and family activities in Houston; and

WHEREAS, Dee Owens and her collaborators have been instrumental in creating an admirable and useful program that will enable families to participate in the schooling of their children, and this worthy project is helping to improve educational opportunities in the Houston community; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas Legislature hereby commend the 2006-2007 "Partners in Learning: Schools and Families Build the Future" pilot program at Jacinto City Elementary School and extend to Dee Owens and the project's other organizers best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Owens and Jacinto City Elementary School as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.