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Schools

SD 153's Marks Named President of the Year

Homewood's Shelly Marks is named the top school board president in Illinois.

Shelly Marks, president of the Board of Education, has been named the Illinois School Board President of the Year. 

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) presented Marks with the 2011 Thomas Lay Burroughs Award on Sunday during an annual state education conference in Chicago.

"Shelly Marks stands out as an incredible leader in ," Gery J. Chico, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education said. "Her district demonstrates high levels of learning, which requires not only the dedication of teachers and parents, but also the support and guidance someone like Shelly provides."

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ISBE cited the school board's insistence on maintaining high quality staff and educational interventions despite unprecedented stress on school district finances as one reason for Marks' selection. ISBE also applauded Marks for .

"In these times of limited resources, it's not easy to do the right thing by students while still being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. Yet Shelly has managed to do that on our school board for the past 19 years," Superintendent Dale Mitchell, who nominated Marks for the award, said.

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Marks accepted the award on behalf of "every staff member in the —the lunch ladies, custodians, nurses, aides, teachers, administrators—and our families and taxpayers who all work so diligently to make sure our students have the best opportunity to learn every day."

"I feel very lucky to serve in Homewood," she said.  "We have a community where everybody does what's best for the students."

She received the award Sunday, Nov. 20, during the joint conference of the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials in Chicago.

ISBE created the award in 1991 to honor Thomas Lay Burroughs, who served as chairman of the State Board of Education and the Board of Education for the Collinsville School District. The award recognizes extraordinary educational leadership on the local level in three areas: on behalf of improved student learning and educational excellence; in resolving a crisis or major difficulty; and on behalf of equal education opportunities.

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