Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf
Features
4 Marie Dickinson Named
TAD’s Teacher of the Year
5 Christina Costello Selected for
LiftOff Summer Institute
6 Mechelle Marler Receives
“A+ Education Foundation” Grant
7 Bobbie Guerra Wins
Sam’s Club Teacher of the Year
Other News
8 Gina Wood and Pamela Logan
Lend a “Happy” Helping Hand in Honduras
9 Austin Hosts 2005 TAD Conference
10 TSD Teachers Participate in
Danskin’s Annual Triathlon
11-12 TSD’s New Identity Revealed
 Lone Star Summer 2005
Volume 126, No.
Letter from the Editor
Salutations,
After a year of service here as your Lone Star Edi-
tor, I’m still amazed at the dauntless dedication of
some of the staff that I’ve seen here. There are, of
course, literally hundreds of teachers and staff that
deserve kudos and accolades; however, four teachers
in particular have received special recognition and/
or an award from outside organizations this spring
and summer. I wanted to use this issue as a way to
show these teachers how proud we are of their ac-
complishments. Take time out to congratulate these
dedicated individuals.
john.alderson@tsd.state.tx.us
512-462-5327 (V/TTY)
Sincerely,
John Locke Alderson III
Lone Star
Editor: John Alderson
Editorial Assistance: Claire Bugen, Cynthia Foss,
Diana Poeppelmeyer and Twyla Strickland
Photography: John Alderson and TSD Staff
Production: John Alderson and TSD students
Front Cover
Bobbie Guerra, Chris Costello and Marie Dickinson
all received awards from outside organizations com-
mending their teaching stature.
Subscription Info
A one year subscription to Lone Star, the quarterly
journal of the Texas School for the Deaf, costs $5.
Send check and mailing address information to:
Lone Star Editor
Texas School for the Deaf
1102 South Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
 Message from the Superintendent
Good teaching really matters.

Our nation has a teacher recruitment and retention crisis. It’s important that each
and every day our teachers and staff are appreciated for the important work they do
in changing student lives. This issue of the Lone Star highlights just a few of the
many outstanding examples of quality teaching, professional development and staff
accomplishments that occur both and on and off the TSD campus.

No Child Left Behind establishes new criteria for teacher quality based on the as-
sumption that if teachers know their content they will be adequately prepared to
teach all students. For our teachers it means far more than knowing the content of
their subject matter. They also have to be skilled in the methodologies that address
deaf learner’s strengths and possess the ability to communicate effectively in the
language of our students. We know that preparation and certification of teachers is
only part of ensuring a qualified teacher for every classroom.

When any of us reflect back on our experiences in school and college we remember
differences in style, personality, goals and patterns of interaction with students. Edu-
cation is forever addressing issues of technique, content and presentation. But we all
know people who have tremendous knowledge but fail to communicate it; people
who have on paper, a great lesson, but whose students are bored or frustrated. If we
reflect back honestly, we might admit that good teaching often has less to do with
Administration our knowledge and skills than with our attitude towards our students, our subject
and our work. Good teachers connect with their students. When we remember
our good teachers we most often remember how they made us feel.
Claire Bugen
Superintendent

Betty Bounds
Director of Instruction/ A Good Teacher:
Assistant Superintendent Is Enthusiastic
Makes Learning Fun
Gloria Seidlin-Bernstein Admits “I Don’t Know”
Director of Student Support Services Knows Her/His Audience
Gary Bego Promotes Active Learning
Director of Business and Operations Knows the Content
Is Motivating
Vicki White Uses Positive Reinforcement
Director of Residential Services Is Affectionate and Nurturing
Encourages Student Independence
Governing Board Meets the Needs of All Learners
Makes all of the Students Feel Special
Charles Estes, President Listens and Responds to Students’ Ideas
Beatrice Burke, Vice President Creates a Safe and Risk-Free Environment
Dale Kesterson, Secretary Creates a Positive / Welcoming Atmosphere
Jean Andrews Teaches Children To Be Responsible Citizens
Walt Camenisch Creates a Good Student
Nancy Carrizales
Nancy Munger
Lesa Thomas

Claire Bugen
Superintendent
Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 
 Marie Dickinson Named
TAD’s Teacher of the Year
M
arie is a teacher, a compassionate listener, and an
encouraging leader among peers and students alike.
Every year the Texas Association of the Deaf names
one exceptional educator as their Teacher of the Year Award,
and Marie Dickinson was this year’s titleholder.
Chief among the reasons for the well deserved recogni-
tion is her tireless involvement in the students’ academic and
extracurricular lives. One indisputable example of her selfless
giving is her sponsorship and training of TSD’s Academic
Bowl team. During the height of the Academic Bowl season,
she devotes be-
tween four and ten “...there’s never enough time to do everything that
hours a week after
school to train the needs to be done or teach what needs to be taught.”
students in rules
and procedures,
use of equipment,
and materials. In addition, she trains their minds by taking
them through multiple competition simulations. She also
takes the team on an out of state trip, sacrificing a weekend
to be coach, mentor and cheerleader.
Graduating from the University of Georgia, Marie was
all too familiar with heavy extracurricular involvement as she
was extremely active in their theatre program, both on and off
the stage. Continuing her love of the stage, Marie has spent
several years as Assistant Director to TSD’s Theatre Director,
Andrea Fernandez. Also the International Thespian Society
Sponsor, Andrea says of her assistant, “She is an indispens-
able part of the program. Without her I would not be able to
run the program, or make it as successful as it has been. She
is an invaluable asset... She kept me balanced and focused
throughout all of our productions.” No one could dispute
this in anything Marie does.
Marie also works unremittingly to better the entire
school. This is her sixth year as a voluntary member of the
High School Site-Based Team, a group that comes up with
 Lone Star Summer 2005
innovative ideas to improve the high school. “A big part of
what I did for the site-based team was to help TSD satisfy the
No Child Left Behind Act by developing new Social Studies
curriculum”. She also developed a portfolio system for high
school.
Adding to her list of ‘above and beyond’ involvement for
the betterment of the school, this year she volunteered as a
member of the Accreditation Planning Team. She devoted
hours to research and meetings to help TSD come up with
new plans to improve the school over the next five years.
In spite of her altruism, her giving nature, her donation
of time and energy, she still wishes she had more time to ac-
complish everything she would like to see done in any given
day. “The greatest challenge I face as a teacher is time—not
having enough of it. It seems like there’s just never enough
time to do everything that needs to be done.”
As the High School Technology Mentor she has first hand
knowledge of how to apply technology into her classroom and
does so consistently, in addition to helping other high school
teachers integrate technology in their classrooms.
Professionally, she has taken over the position of Lead
History Teacher. From this vantage point she has been
instrumental in
the choosing
and ordering of
new curriculum
materials for
her department.
Marie has trav-
eled extensively
in Europe and so much believed it was an experience our
students should have that she developed our International
Studies course. Students will learn about European culture
and customs and then go to Europe during spring break, all
under Marie’s watchful eyes.
 Chris Costello Selected
for Liftoff Summer Institute
T
he year 2005 marks the sixteenth consecutive year
that teachers from around the country increase their
knowledge of space education through the LiftOff
Summer Institute. Christina Costello, TSD’s noted Middle
School science teacher, was chosen as one of the educators
to participate in this year’s program, and she was thrilled
at the opportunity. The week long institute ran from July
11th to the 18th and provided an extensive overview to all
aspects of the space program.
LiftOff 2005 combined the strengths of collaborators
such as the Texas Space Grant Consortium, NASA, and
the Lunar and Planetary Institute, to enrich teaching and
learning of science, mathematics, and technology.
Christina is often asked of her students what tangible
impact does the space program have, and what justifies the
billions of dollars spent on a race to Mars when there are
so many other troubles closer to (and on) our own planet.
After her second trip to the LiftOff program, she now
responds, “I came back with a very clear, very complete
picture of how far reaching the science involved in the space
program really is. It has affected and improved almost every
aspect of our ev-
ery day life.”
The week “I’d love for all of my students to learn... how to think,
long series in-
cluded work- not just what to think”
shops, hands
-on activities,
and field trips,
featuring presentations from Jerry Woodfill of NASA
Johnson Space Center and Becky Nelson from the Lunar
and Planetary Institute.
Getting a certified, official space shuttle tile was one
of her, admittedly ‘geek-out’, highlight moments of the
whole experience. “For a classroom demonstration of
Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf
thermodynamics, to be able to hold a torch to one side of
the tile while the other side stays completely cool is... well,
it’s cool!”
Between the thirty one teachers from seven different
states, there was an entire bookshelf’s worth of resource
sharing that passed hands—another huge benefit from the
experience to directly impact her lesson plans back here at
TSD. With this year’s JASON project focusing on the Mars
expedition, Christina will find countless ways to integrate
this summer’s experience into the school year.
All of the teachers had the opportunity to visit the Hous-
ton Museum of
Natural Science
to conduct a sim-
ulated mission
to the Moon and
on to Mars in the
Challenger Center. They were also scheduled to watch
the Discovery shuttle launch from an observation pavilion
right across from Mission Control; and, needless to say,
were all disappointed the launch was cancelled. They did,
however, get to experience first hand the intricacies of what’s
involved in a shuttle launch. They had up to the minute
reports from NASA engineers about the status of sensors
around the country and learned exactly why the launch was
cancelled—even before that information was released to the
major media. Overall, the experience has already made its
imprint onto the TSD classroom, and the LiftOff program
will hopefully continue to enrich classrooms throughout
the nation.
“There’s just so much in science that I really love teach-
ing, it’s hard for me to focus on just what’s applicable to
a testing situation. I’d love for all of my students to learn
more how to process the learning experience, than just
memorizing a list of facts. How to think, not just what to

 Mechelle Marler Receives
“A+ Education Foundation” Grant
T
he A+ Education Foundation was established
earlier this year to help fund grants for pro-
grams and training for educators in the com-
munities served by the A+ Federal Credit Union, and
TSD’s Mechelle Marler was one of a select number
of $1,000 grant recipients. Mechelle’s Career Cen-
ter project has always been an exemplary feather in
the Career and
Technology De-
partment’s pro-
“Gain as much experience as possible while you have
verbial cap, but the support and resources available...”
the recognition
and receipt of
this grant mon-
ey goes a long way to provide further support of the
program.
Mechelle was delighted to find out her project
received recognition from the fledgling foundation
program. She was also thrilled to have something she
felt an absolutely necessity for the kids be recognized
as such outside of the TSD community.
The crux of the grant money was earmarked for
an on-line job training and job marketing software
called Career Cruising. The web-based application
has resume building tools, a place to house on-line
portfolios, planning software and more. “With ex-
ceptional assessment tools, detailed occupation pro-
files, and comprehensive post-secondary education
information, students move seamlessly through the
career exploration and planning process. At the same
time, teachers have access to the real-time information
 Lone Star Summer 2005
and statistics needed to track students’ progress and
achievement.”
While the grant money and recognition are wel-
comed, Mechelle would still like to see the Career
Center get bigger every year. She feels having the
Career Center be a central location for students and
career resources will help save time and maximize the
students efficiency. Having the computers, counselors,
teachers, and meeting rooms for outside agencies to
come and give presentations and/or training seminars
is a good, palpable goal for the next couple of years.
More than the software or the new equipment,
Mechelle feels the best thing to come from receiving
the inaugural A+ Grant is the relationship gained
with the A+ Federal Credit Union as a Career and
Technology Work Training Intern partner. This se-
mester, Elizabeth Hamm, TSD Senior, was hired as a
paid intern by the president of the A+ Federal Credit
Union.
If she
could impart
just one thing
to all of the stu-
dents she af-
fects, it would
be “for the stu-
dents to gain as much experience as possible when they
have the support and the resources available here at
TSD and the Career Center. After graduation, they
will all find out it’s a whole different ball game.”
 Bobbie Guerra Wins
Sam’s Club Teacher of the Year
O
n May 3rd, Jim Owens, Marketing Supervisor of Teaching has always been, and will always be, both
Sam’s Club, awarded Bobbie Guerra the Sam’s extremely challenging and extraordinarily rewarding. Of
Club Teacher of the Year. More than nifty
plaque, she received $1,000 by to spend on her classroom
needs. The nomination was a complete surprise to Bobbie,
and her winning the award came as even more of a pleasant
surprise when she was told to be in the cafeteria at 11:30
a.m. on the 3rd, and “....oh, and wear something nice”.
Bobbie was honored with this award for promoting
the use of technology with deaf and hard of hearing stu-
dents in a variety of creative modes. With the training of
her then called ‘Synergy Studio’, students are taught to be
ambassadors for the Texas School for the Deaf and also
taught how to promote a positive image of TSD in the
community. This year, the video technology students have
chosen ‘Velocity Studio’ as their yearly moniker—a telling
title for the year to come.
Among one of the most sought after classes on campus, all the challenges teachers face today, Bobbie’s biggest
Bobbie’s video technology class each year becomes more challenge “...is the increased diversity of skills and learning
of an extracurricular association than just a class. The stu- abilities within the same class. It’s a challenge to meet every
dents’ involvement constantly exceeds the time spent be- students needs in a 50 minute class. Technology is con-
tween the bells, stantly improving
and its exposure
in the commu-
“Challenge yourself with new experiences and work and so are kids’
computer skills.”
nity is helping
to make TSD a
hard to make your dreams come true.” Having
an open, honest
magnet school rapport with her
for this type of students has been
hands-on instruction. essential in building trust and establishing a mutual synergy
The $1,000 cash award will be spent on the purchase with her kids. Bobbie added, “Be a lifetime learner. Chal-
of a new camcorder, and if there’s any left over, Bobbie lenge yourself with new experiences and work to make
wants to start a video technology fund or endowment to your dreams come true.”
be used as special needs arise.

Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 

 Gina Wood & Pamela Logan
Lend a ‘Happy’ Helping Hand in Honduras
O
n a service based mission trip sponsored by Baylor
University, Gina Wood and Pamela Logan spent 3
weeks in July helping to establish the first deaf edu-
cation program for teachers in Honduras in the capital city of
Tegucigalpa. One of the greatest challenges they faced on the
trip was the language barrier. As they stood in front of a class to
teach, three people stood to address the class for every lesson.
The teachers would speak without signing in English. That was
then translated from English to Spanish and then from Span-
ish to LESHO, Honduran Sign Language (Lengua de Senas de
Honduras).
With the help of New Life Deaf Ministry, the Happy Hands
School for the Deaf children is just starting to get off the ground
with 30 students currently enrolled in both Tegucigalpa and a
branch school in Siguatepeque, approximately two hours from
the capital. Christy Owen, a missionary from Arkansas who has
been in Honduras for six years, began Happy Hands to help bring
a proper education, equal rights, and secure a foundation for an
emerging Deaf Culture in a country (and part of the world) where
these were previously nonexistent. “I started realizing the harsh
reality of millions of deaf people in the world without language,
and even more assaulting, without hope.”
Gina and Pamela had a lot of interaction with the students,
 Lone Star Summer 2005
but their main objective was to help train the would-be teach-
ers to become certified deaf educators. The school is now only
pre-kindergarten through 1st grade but has a goal to be a fully
functioning, K-12 residential school that graduates high school
students.
The school building itself may seem a little slipshod to the
American eye, but next to the surrounding dirt floor and cor-
rugated tin roof shanties in the surrounding area of Tegucigalpa,
Happy Hands is quite palatial for most of the students. The entire
building is about the size of the TSD cafeteria and currently
provides adequate facilities for the children; however, Happy
Hands will soon outgrow their building with future expansion.
Enrollment in the school is taken very seriously and the teach-
ers feel it should be treated as an honor. Students are required
to wear clean uniforms to school and both the student and their
parents must show consistent progress in learning LESHO to
remain enrolled.
The group Gina and Pamela travelled with consisted of
2 Deaf Ed teachers and 3 students from the Baylor Deaf Ed
Program. While a formal LESHO dictionary still does not exist,
before their trip, they were all sent a CD with over 200 illustrated
LESHO vocabulary to familiarize themselves with some of the
more basic signs. In the first few weeks of TSD’s fall semester
since their return, Gina’s own students have been fascinated to
learn about Honduran culture and see the differences in the
languages.
“There are a lot of ASL signs that are offensive to them that
to us seem commonplace... It’s peculiar what different cultures
consider offensive in terms of signs”, said Gina. While fascinated
by the differences in the language, she was surprised to see the
similarities, such as Deaf identity and student behavior, that
exist between Honduras and US. “I’ve always tried to stress
the importance of identity to my students. The importance of
their own cultural heritage and the importance of their rights as
a people. It was interesting to see these types of skills transfer
beyond TSD, especially to a land where Deaf Culture has never
existed before.”
 Austin Hosts 2005
TAD Biennial Conference
T
he Texas School for the Deaf, along with
Sprint Relay Texas, CSD, and Lamar Univer-
sity is proud to have been a major sponsor of
the 43rd Biennial Conference held at the Interconti-
nental Hotel on Congress Avenue in Austin this past
June 2005.
The Conference took place on June 23 -25. The
theme of the conference was “Education, Law, Tech-
nology, Culture.”—issues that current concerns of
deaf and hard of hearing people. The conference
promoted reflection on how far we have come in terms
of gaining equal access to education, legal services,
technology, jobs and the support that is so valuable
in becoming independent, contributing citizens. The
presenters prompted us to reflect on our lives and in-
stilled in each of us all over again pride in our language
and culture.
There were approximately 170 people in atten-
dance: members of the Deaf Community, parents of
deaf and hearing impaired students, professionals in
the field of Deafness, sign language interpreters and
such a great variety of people from around Texas with
a vested interest in the topics.
Michele LaVigne, presenting from a lawyer’s
perspective “An Interpreter is Not Enough”, Claire
Bugen, Superintendent of Texas School for the Deaf
shared with us the “National Agenda” on
Deafness as it relates to Deaf Education
in American today. Also Presenting
were Jean Andrews of Lamar Uni-
versity along with her team of
doctoral students Byron Bridg-
es, Nathie Marbury, and Ying
Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf
by Betty Bounds
Li, who presented a wealth of interesting information
on Deaf Culture which included the story of Leroy
Colombo, Deaf Lifeguard. Ed Bosson, Relay Texas
Administrator with Texas Public Utilities Commis-
sion shared information on Technology and how it has
evolved from the first teletypewriter phone access to
Video Phone and Video Relay service. David Myers,
Director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitation
Services in Austin presented on what current services
are available at the regional offices across the state,
introducing the staff from each office.
The officers of the Texas Association of the Deaf
held a general meeting on Saturday afternoon. Henry
Whalen was re-elected as President, Byron Bridges,
TSD graduate, was elected Vice President, Kathy Wal-
ters as Secretary, LeRoy Terrio as Treasurer, Nathie
Marbury, Krystal Minter and Steven Hunter as board
members.
New to the conference this year was the Miss
Deaf Texas Pageant held on Saturday evening. In the
past it was a separate event held at a different location
and different date. It was a very successful pageant.
TSD’s own Tara McAvoy was crowned at the end of
the pageant. Talk about TSD pride!!
It was such a great pleasure and learning experi-
ence to work with Robert Giuntoli of Sprint,
Dr. Jean Andrews of Lamar University,
Rogelio Fernandez, Jo Bienvenu of
CSD, and Danny Lacey of Kramer
Financial on campus at TSD in
planning this conference.

 TSD Teachers Participate in
Danskin’s Annual Triathlon
I
n its 16th year, the Danskin Women’s Triathlon ner” located in the
Series has become the largest and longest-running orange mats posi-
series in multi-sport history. On June 11th and tioned at each transi-
12th, Austin hosted one of the eight national races tion “reads” the chip
and TSD’s own Trish Grooms, Sarah Bannon, Kim and records the time
Jennifer Hamilton and Rachel Bullock completed the as each athlete steps
team relay. on the mat.
These ladies joined thousands of other women who Trish Grooms
got together to raise awareness, money, and support competed as a solo
for the fight against breast cancer. The Breast Cancer triathlete on her own
Research Foundation is the Official Charity for all but needed just as
of the 2005 Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series and much moral sup-
Danskin donates 10% of all the entry fees to this very port from friends
worthwhile organization. and on-lookers as
Some of the TSD triathletes had participated in everyone else. Trish
the Danskin triathlon before, some had even had com- said, “It was my first
pleted in other triathlons. Sarah, Kim Jennifer, and Triathlon. I trained
Rachel all completed as a team relay in three athletic about 3 times a week for about three months. The
disciplines: a half-mile swim, a 12-mile bike relay and greatest challenge in preparation was the swimming
a 3-mile run. Sarah Bannon reported that, “this was part because I did not have a lot of access to swimming
my second time since I live out
participating in “...we came out on top because we overcame some fears in the country
the Danskin plus I also was
triathlon. I first and boosted our self confidence.” concerned and
participated in somewhat fear-
2004. I loved ful due to not
it.” being a strong
Since its inception 16 years ago, the race has evolved swimmer.”
right along with the technology involved. Now a All of the TSD team members said it was an over-
computer chip encoded with the athlete’s name, race whelming experience full of personal victories and
number and wave start is attached to a plastic strap that team building triumphs. “Just seeing all these women
the athlete wears securely around her ankle. A “scan- from all over and the men or partners taking care of the
kids and watching us was just an awesome feeling that’s
hard to describe.”, said Sarah. Trish added, “Little did
we know what we were getting into but ultimately we
came out on top because we overcame some fears that
we had and boosted our self confidence even more.”
The photo to the right was taken by none other
than Larry Bugen, who was there watching his own
daughter compete. Congratulations ladies. From all
of us at TSD, and on behalf of all of the lives you’ve af-
fected, we want you to know we are very proud of your
accomplishments.

10 Lone Star Summer 2005

 Family Weekend Retreat
Bigger than Ever! by Diana Poeppelmeyer

W
hat do 89 adults + 92 children equal? In this case, children, and professionals got to know each other as people
it equals the 38 families that attended our annual working together toward the common goal of successful Deaf and
Family Weekend Retreat (FWR). This was our big- Hard of Hearing children and their families. It may not always
gest turnout ever and all participants (visiting families, TSD be true that bigger is better, but in the case of Family Weekend
staff, and presenters) found the maxim to be true... there IS Retreat, the more people there are to share, the better and richer
strength in numbers. All are encouraged, inspired, supported, the experience for all!
and educated when so many get together and everyone is given
the opportunity to be a part of the interaction between parents,
children, and professionals.
Our FWR schedule was built to provide a balance between
family time together and times when children could go one way
and parents another. While children were engaged in fun, age
appropriate activities, their parents were involved in workshops
that were also fun and age-appropriate! Though the kids may
have been playing with literal building blocks, parents were
learning about building blocks for nurturing their child’s opti-
mal development. Pictured to the right are the workshops that
were offered this year. Initially, Dan Brubaker, had created a
foundation for putting these together with his keynote address,
“A World of Possibilities: Our Children’s Potential.” Parents
were able to consider all of this information in the context of real
lives through the examples and experiences that were shared in
the Teen, Deaf Adult, and Parent to Parent Panels.
Meal times and an evening carnival provided opportunities
for families to reconnect and for people to meet. In these time
and in the down times between workshops and presentations,
the real magic of Family Weekend Retreat occurred as parents,

New TSD Identity Unveiled by Mark Brinkman

C
learly, Texas School for the Deaf is a very special place
for each respondent group with any ties to the campus.
A sense of “like” community is the most powerful aspect
of TSD. Because that allows for education to take place, it al-
lows for social skills to develop, it allows for confidence to take
hold. In addition, there is a strong sense of pride and loyalty.
Every focus group we conducted—whether they were students,
former students or hearing/deaf parents—clearly understood that
TSD was key in helping develop potential. While developing
the new TSD identity, the adult groups we talked to wished the
reputation of the school would provide for a higher profile and
become better known as an academic, cultural community.
Texas School for the Deaf has a great opportunity to repo-
sition itself in the eyes of the deaf and hearing communities.
The good news is, everyone likes a success story, and every year
hundreds walk the halls of TSD. We’ve got the stories. We’ve
got the successes. We’ve got the personalities. This was what
brought about the new tag line “Learn. Grow. Belong.”.
Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 11
 A Word on the New Mascot
T
he TSD football team in 1894 was called simply, ‘Texas
School for the Deaf’. From 1895 to 1898, it was labeled the
Roses, named after the school superintendent, A.T. Rose.
After Superintendent Rose resigned in 1899, the TSD football team
was called Deaf and Dumb. Prior to the 1910’s, several names
had been used when talking about the TSD football squad. They
were Deaf and Dumb, Dummies, Scrubs, and Deaf Mutes. From
1910 to 1920, the team was called the Lone Stars.
After years of various names being used, the Silents was
accepted by the media and all interested parties. The Silents
remained from 1921 to 1953. In that final year, a name change
occurred that became the moniker that remains to this day.
“At a recent meeting of the newly established Boys Athletic
Association, one of the first official acts of that body was to adopt
a name to replace the “Silents”. Great pains were taken to choose
a name that would be easily recognized as “Texan” in origin and
at the same time easily drawn for illustration purposes. The great
and glorious fame of the Texas Rangers furnished a very appealing
name which was immediately found favorable by the large majority
of the students. “
-Ray Butler: The Lone Star vol. 75 no. 2
Though the name remains the same, the TSD Ranger mas-
cot has recently undergone another significant transformation.
Through great pains, scrutinous thought and careful planning,
the Ranger has been updated and overhauled. The old Ranger
was always shown as a male and often depicted with guns. To
include our female students and to disassociate our school from
guns or promoting violence, we have moved to another symbol
of the famous Texas Rangers. One that accomplishes these two
objectives plus adds connotations of agility, strength, power, spirit,
and intelligence. The horse was chosen because it embodies these
characteristics while also honoring our past by staying true to our
identity as Rangers. Like the cowboy hat, badge, boots, and guns,
the horse has always been an integral part of the Texas Ranger’s
lore and when conjoined with a badge in the shape of a star, it
emphasizes both the Ranger spirit and the Lone Star
pride at TSD. A horse is known to be kind yet full
of endurance. The free forward stride of a horse in
movement is representative of a student
reaching towards a goal. We hope you
share both our spirit and our pride in
our newfound mascot.