SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 354 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Krystal Contreras, who is being honored with a 2018-2019 Milken Educator Award; and WHEREAS, The Milken Educator Awards program was established 31 years ago to celebrate, recognize, and encourage innovative educators who are guiding the next generation of leaders and to inspire young people to consider teaching as a career; and WHEREAS, Krystal Contreras has been teaching elementary school children for 14 years, and she is currently a fourth-grade writing teacher at Dr. C.M. Cash Elementary School in San Benito, Texas; and WHEREAS, A truly gifted educator, Krystal is motivated by the understanding that writing is a fundamental element of educational success, and she thoughtfully develops innovative and engaging lessons to help her students learn and become independent problem-solvers; and WHEREAS, She maintains high expectations in the classroom, and she is credited with helping to achieve a five-percent increase over the last year in the number of her school's fourth-graders who passed their end-of-year writing assessments; and WHEREAS, Krystal has promoted success throughout the school by attending professional development workshops and researching new writing strategies and then sharing her knowledge and resources with her colleagues; she has also written curriculum and led professional development at the district's "Teachers Teaching Teachers" conference; and WHEREAS, Krystal Contreras is the first educator in the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District to earn a Milken Educator Award and one of only 33 across the nation to be honored with an award this year; she inspires others through her example, and she is indeed deserving of recognition for her recent achievement; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th Legislature, hereby commend Krystal Contreras on her exceptional work as a teacher and congratulate her on receiving a 2018-2019 Milken Educator Award; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for her as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate. Lucio ________________________________ President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 12, 2019. ________________________________ Secretary of the Senate ________________________________ Member, Texas Senate