84R2906 RA-D
By: Alonzo H.R. No. 91
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership
School is commemorating in the 2015-2016 school year its 12th 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 84th 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 12th 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.