HR0653 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0653 LRB097 15049 KXB 60122 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Shelly Marks of Homewood School District 153 on receiving the 2011 Thomas Lay Burroughs Award; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) selected Shelly Marks of Homewood School District 153 as the 2011 recipient of the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award, which annually honors an outstanding school board president in Illinois; she has served 9 years as president of the Homewood 153 Board of Education and 19 years total on the board; and

WHEREAS, Homewood District 153 has faced increased financial stresses in recent years; Shelly Marks and the school board are credited with prioritizing assets for high quality staff and educational interventions, which have made an impact on student learning; on the 2011 ISATs, 90% of students in the district met or exceeded State standards in math and 86% of students met or exceeded the standards in reading, despite spending less per pupil than the State average; and

WHEREAS, Homewood District 153 has also managed to cut its achievement gap in half since 2006; Shelly Marks has been specifically applauded for advocating early childhood education as a means to level the educational playing field for every student; she is also credited with implementing a successful district-wide diversity program called Homewood SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity); and

WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education created the award for school board presidents 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; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Shelly Marks on receiving this award and wish her continued success in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Shelly Marks as a symbol of our respect and esteem.