H.R. No. 50
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
 
         WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership
  School is commemorating in the 2013-2014 school year its 10th year
  of providing an outstanding education to area youth, and this
  occasion provides a welcome opportunity to recognize the 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 a magnet program of the Dallas Independent School District; 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 83rd Texas
  Legislature hereby pay tribute to the rich and accomplished life of
  the Honorable Irma Rangel and honor the students of the Irma Lerma
  Rangel Young Women's Leadership School on the 10th anniversary of
  the opening of the school; 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
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 50 was adopted by the House on
  February 7, 2013, by a non-record vote.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House