As Shelly Marks departs from her seat on the District 153 school board after 33 years of service, the board’s parting gift was renaming the Willow School playground in her honor.
A plaque highlighting her accomplishments will be placed at the school door leading out to the playground. It reads in part: “Those who know Shelly will never forget her nor the endless sacrifices she made on behalf of the students and staff of Homewood School District 153 for over three decades. May the laughter of children at play forever remind us of the positive impact Shelly Marks had on the children in our community.”
The celebratory farewell program following the May 5 school board meeting was filled with jokes that brought out laughter from the audience, and many heartfelt words of gratitude for Marks’s support.
Several pointed to Marks receiving the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award in 2011 as the Illinois Outstanding School Board Member presented by the Illinois State Board of Education. By that point, she had already nearly 20 years into her term and had worked through the contentious fight to move District 153 schools away from neighborhood schools to grade centers and worked to pass the 2011 referendum supporting a tax increase that garnered 88% approval.
Marks has served on the board for 33 years, 22 of those as board president.
Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233 and District 153 both passed resolutions in her honor.
“You are incredible,” Steve Anderson told her as he presented the H-F resolution. It was Marks who convinced him to join the District 153 board. After 10 years he won a seat on the H-F board and served for eight years.
“She was the first call whenever I was in trouble. She was always there in my corner,” as the H-F board president, Anderson said. “You changed my life and my direction with 18 years of service, and I’m thankful for that.”
Speakers shared insights into Marks’ kindness, concern for staff, her efforts at collaboration and her boundless energy.
Teachers union president Tom Jaminski recalled meeting Marks in 2001 at a first-year teacher reception. He told Marks: “The smile is still there, but the aura and the glow is 100 times more powerful than it was in 2001. I know why she does it – it’s probably the reason I do it – because she cares about these kids in these buildings, she cares about the staff, she cares about the community. That’s why she does it. She is probably the Hall of Fame School President in my book and in a lot of people’s hearts and minds.”
Newly elected Board President Alex Bosche gave Marks golf balls now that she will have more time for the game, and Dale Mitchell, former District 153 superintendent, said he put Marks in a special category with golfer Rory McIlroy who won the grand slam of golf by winning the Masters this year, earning him the green jacket.
“Thinking about all the wonderful accomplishments, if there is such a thing for someone who deserves recognition at that level, it’s Shelly Marks,” Mitchell said. “There’s no one that I know of that is more deserving of an Educational Grand Slam then Shelly Marks.”
Mitchell then presented Marks with a green jacket.
In his remarks her husband, Steve Marks, said: “They say, whoever they are, that one person cannot make a difference. They were wrong. Shelly has proved that one person can and does make a difference. I can say first-hand, her term on the board has been an unwavering labor of love.”
Speaking for the Marks family, he said, “We are so proud of you and your accomplishments, we can’t even imagine what’s next, especially when you are by far the best at thinking outside of the box. Whatever you do, it will be with the same devotion and enthusiasm that you have had for the past 33 years.”