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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The year 2013 marks the 125th anniversary of the |
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founding of Aoy Elementary School in El Paso; and |
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WHEREAS, Olivas Villanueva Aoy, a Franciscan priest, founded |
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what would become Aoy Elementary in 1887 to help Mexican children |
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learn English and prepare to enter public school; in 1888, the El |
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Paso Independent School District voted to officially make |
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Mr. Villanueva's school a part of the district and named it the |
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Mexican Preparatory School; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Aoy taught the school's first students in a |
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six-classroom building on the corner of Chihuahua Street and |
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Francisco Street; after his death in 1895, the district renamed the |
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school Aoy Elementary to honor his service; three years later, the |
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district approved the construction of a new, larger campus on South |
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Campbell Street in the Segundo Barrio, or Second Ward, neighborhood |
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to meet the needs of the school's growing population; in 2003, local |
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voters approved a ballot measure that combined Aoy with another |
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nearby elementary school, Roosevelt, and the school now serves more |
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than 500 students; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the district's oldest elementary schools, the |
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institution continues to thrive under the guidance of principal |
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Martha Franco, who has worked with her faculty to maintain an |
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effective and nurturing learning environment, one that uses 21st |
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century technologies to prepare students for the opportunities that |
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lie ahead; and |
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WHEREAS, Aoy Elementary has equipped countless young Texans |
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with a strong educational foundation, and its 125-year history is a |
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testament to the enduring value the community places on the |
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education of its children; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 125th anniversary of Aoy |
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Elementary School and extend to its administrators, faculty, staff, |
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and students sincere best wishes for the future; 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. |