84R27067 BPG-D
By: Turner of Tarrant H.R. No. 2555
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Arlington Independent School District is
celebrating the dedication of Diane Patrick Elementary School in
the fall of 2015; and
WHEREAS, Transforming the nature of instruction, this
18-acre campus offers students outdoor and collaborative learning
spaces, a 21st-century media center, a broadcasting studio, and the
first two STEM labs in an Arlington ISD elementary school; and
WHEREAS, The opening ceremony provides an ideal opportunity
to recognize the school's namesake, educator and former state
representative Dr. Diane Patrick; a veteran teacher, Dr. Patrick
currently serves on the faculty of the Department of Educational
Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at
Arlington; she also teaches at Dallas Baptist University, and she
has taught at Texas Christian University as well; and
WHEREAS, Early in her career, Dr. Patrick served as an
elementary teacher in the Waco, Richardson, and Birdville
Independent School Districts; she subsequently became director of
educational programs at two psychiatric hospitals; she holds a
bachelor's degree in education from Baylor University and both a
master's degree in elementary education and a doctoral degree in
educational administration from the University of North Texas; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Patrick has worked tirelessly in behalf of the
state's students in numerous capacities; following an 11-year
tenure on the Arlington ISD Board of Trustees, during which time she
served four years as president, she won election to the Texas State
Board of Education in 1992; she currently serves as a director of
the Arlington ISD Education Foundation and the Texas Education
Reform Foundation, and she has given generously of her expertise to
the Texas Center for Educational Research Advisory Board and the
Consortium of State Organizations of Texas Teacher Educators; and
WHEREAS, First elected to the Texas House in 2006,
Dr. Patrick greatly benefited public education through her
accomplishments over the course of four terms in the legislature;
she served as vice chair of the Higher Education Committee, where
she was a champion for UT--Arlington, and she authored numerous
pieces of significant legislation, including the state's first
comprehensive anti-bullying bill and bills providing for
developmental education reform, increased transparency in higher
education, and improved educator preparation; she was regarded by
fellow legislators as one of the foremost experts on public and
higher education in Texas government; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Patrick has also committed her time and talents
to advancing a host of worthy causes and organizations within her
community; she is a Junior League Sustainer and a member of the
Downtown Rotary Club, and she has served as county co-chair of the
March of Dimes and as a member of the Children's Advocacy Network
board, the Downtown Arlington Rotary Club, the Junior League of
Arlington, and the Arlington Republican Club; and
WHEREAS, Named to the Legislative Honor Roll by the Texas
Parent Teacher Association, Dr. Patrick is the recipient of myriad
other accolades, among them the Lone Star Conservative Leader Award
from the Texas Conservative Roundtable, the Excellence in Public
Service Award from the Texas Hospital Association, and the Patient
Advocacy Award from the Texas Dental Association; and
WHEREAS, In all her endeavors, Diane Patrick is supported by
the love and encouragement of her husband, Dr. Ned Patrick; she is
the proud mother of two Arlington ISD graduates, and she recently
celebrated the arrival of her seventh grandchild; and
WHEREAS, Diane Patrick has advanced the quality of education
in Arlington and the Lone Star State through her ceaseless
endeavors as an educator and public servant, and the naming of a
school in her honor is truly a fitting tribute; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize Dr. Diane Patrick on the occasion of
the dedication of Diane Patrick Elementary School and extend to her
sincere best wishes for continued success in her important work;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Dr. Patrick as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.