88S31245 TBO-D
By: Menéndez S.R. No. 82
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Joel C. Harris Middle School in the San Antonio
Independent School District is celebrating its 100th anniversary in
2023; and
WHEREAS, Named for American journalist, fiction writer, and
folklorist Joel Chandler Harris, the campus was first established
as Joel Chandler Harris Junior School; it began operating in
September 1923, though classes were initially held at a nearby
elementary campus until construction was completed two months later
on the new six-classroom building; and
WHEREAS, The school experienced a period of significant
growth during the 1940s and 1950s, and following a major renovation
project in the early 2000s, its campus more than doubled in size;
the renovations added numerous classrooms, two gyms, and a football
and soccer field, as well as a larger library and cafeteria;
moreover, the former gym was converted to a fine arts building; the
newly renovated campus was dedicated in October 2004, and further
upgrades, including the addition of a STEM lab, were completed in
2016; and
WHEREAS, Today, Joel C. Harris Middle School is an
International Baccalaureate school that provides students in
grades six through eight with a challenging educational program and
a broad range of extracurricular activities; the campus benefits
from the outstanding efforts of its faculty and staff and the able
leadership of its current principal, John Hilliard; and
WHEREAS, For the past century, Joel C. Harris Middle School
has provided its students with a strong educational foundation on
which to build, and it has made a positive and lasting difference in
the lives of generations of San Antonio residents; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature, 3rd
Called Session, hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of Joel C.
Harris Middle School and extend to all those associated with the
campus sincere best wishes for the future; 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
Senate.