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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, JoAnn Gama, cofounder and superintendent of IDEA |
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| 6 | 7 | | Public Schools, has deservedly been named one of the 2015 Pillars of |
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| 7 | 8 | | Success by The University of Texas--Pan American Alumni |
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| 8 | 9 | | Association; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, The University of Texas--Pan American Alumni |
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| 10 | 11 | | Association honors outstanding graduates as Pillars of Success, |
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| 11 | 12 | | highlighting their motivational stories and achievements as |
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| 12 | 13 | | positive examples for current and future students; recipients of |
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| 13 | 14 | | the award come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, but |
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| 14 | 15 | | they have all shown dedication, integrity, and a commitment to |
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| 15 | 16 | | excellence in their specialized professions and in their |
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| 16 | 17 | | communities; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, A Houston native, JoAnn Gama graduated from Sam |
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| 18 | 19 | | Houston High School in 1993 and attended Boston University on a full |
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| 19 | 20 | | scholarship; she earned a master's degree in educational |
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| 20 | 21 | | administration from The University of Texas--Pan American in 2003; |
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| 21 | 22 | | as part of the Teach for America program, she moved to Donna in 1997 |
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| 22 | 23 | | and taught fourth and fifth grade English as a Second Language |
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| 23 | 24 | | classes; after her first year, she was nominated by her peers as |
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| 24 | 25 | | Teacher of the Year; in 1998, she joined with another Teach for |
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| 25 | 26 | | America member to found the IDEA Academy as part of the Donna |
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| 26 | 27 | | Independent School District; and |
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| 27 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Following the academy's success with the district, |
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| 28 | 29 | | Ms. Gama applied for a state charter, and in August 2000, the IDEA |
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| 29 | 30 | | Academy Charter School opened with 150 students enrolled in fourth |
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| 30 | 31 | | through eighth grades; since then, Ms. Gama has been instrumental |
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| 31 | 32 | | in developing the IDEA Public School system, which currently |
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| 32 | 33 | | educates more than 15,000 students in 30 schools across the Rio |
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| 33 | 34 | | Grande Valley and in San Antonio and Austin; several of the schools |
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| 34 | 35 | | have garnered significant honors for their students' success, and |
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| 35 | 36 | | in 2009, IDEA Public Schools became the first charter to receive the |
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| 36 | 37 | | H-E-B Excellence in Education Award as the best school system in |
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| 37 | 38 | | Texas; in 2013, IDEA Donna, IDEA Quest, and IDEA Frontier were |
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| 38 | 39 | | ranked in the top one percent of all public high schools in the |
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| 39 | 40 | | nation; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, Ms. Gama was the winner of the 2009 Peter Jennings |
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| 41 | 42 | | Award for Civic Leadership, and she was appointed to President |
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| 42 | 43 | | Barack Obama's White House Commission on Educational Excellence for |
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| 43 | 44 | | Hispanics in 2010; and |
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| 44 | 45 | | WHEREAS, Texas is fortunate to have passionate and engaged |
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| 45 | 46 | | educators like JoAnn Gama, and her contributions to the greater |
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| 46 | 47 | | good will resonate far into the future; now, therefore, be it |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 48 | 49 | | Legislature hereby congratulate JoAnn Gama on being named one of |
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| 49 | 50 | | the 2015 Pillars of Success by The University of Texas--Pan |
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| 50 | 51 | | American Alumni Association and extend to her sincere best wishes |
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| 51 | 52 | | for the future; and, be it further |
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| 52 | 53 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 53 | 54 | | prepared for Ms. Gama as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 54 | 55 | | House of Representatives. |
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