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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing |
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and Visual Arts in Dallas has been named the recipient of a 2015 |
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Texas Medal of Arts Award by the Texas Cultural Trust; and |
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WHEREAS, Presented biennially since 2001, the Texas Medal of |
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Arts Awards celebrate the power of the arts to enhance the quality |
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of life in the Lone Star State; they recognize those who have |
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achieved greatness and those who have opened doors of opportunity |
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for others, and Booker T. Washington High School is the first |
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educational institution to receive this prestigious accolade; and |
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WHEREAS, Booker T. Washington High School was built in 1922 |
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as the city's first African American high school; a half-century |
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later, the Dallas Independent School District transformed the |
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campus into an arts magnet high school with a dual focus on the arts |
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and scholarship, and it became a prototype for similar institutions |
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across the nation; its long list of distinguished alumni includes |
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jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Philadelphia Orchestra cellist John |
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Koen, visual artists Christian Schumann and Chris Arnold, and |
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singers Erykah Badu, Norah Jones, and Edie Brickell; and |
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WHEREAS, Since its establishment, BTW has won well over 200 |
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DeeBee awards from Downbeat magazine, and the National Foundation |
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for Advancement in the Arts has designated it as one of five |
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Distinguished Schools in the Arts; the campus received the National |
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Blue Ribbon Award for Exemplary Education from the United States |
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Department of Education, which ranks it among the best eight magnet |
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schools; moreover, the school has been named one of the best |
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academic schools by Newsweek magazine and one of the top performing |
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arts schools by U.S.News and World Report; each year, 99 percent of |
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its students graduate, and 90 percent go on to pursue further |
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education; and |
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WHEREAS, The high standards of excellence maintained by |
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Booker T. Washington HSPVA illustrate the degree to which the arts |
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can enrich the lives of young Texans, and this noteworthy |
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institution is indeed deserving of this outstanding honor; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Booker T. Washington High School |
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for the Performing and Visual Arts on its receipt of a Texas Medal |
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of Arts Award from the Texas Cultural Trust and extend to the |
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school's students, faculty, staff, and alumni sincere best wishes |
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for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |