Mark Booth, take a well-merited bow! Director of Student Services for Noblesville Schools since 2004, Booth recently received the Lorin A. Burt Outstanding Educator Award from the Indiana School Boards Association. The award is given annually to recognize overall excellence in contributions to Indiana education. He picked up his honor at the ISBA’s fall get-together in Indianapolis.
“We are honored and so lucky to have an educator of this status in our school district and we are so proud of Mark and everything he does for our students and our community,” stated Noblesville Schools Superintendent Libbie Conner.
We couldn’t agree more. The award is recognition of, among other achievements, Booth’s work with youth in Hamilton and Marion counties. For Noblesville, he developed a program for delinquent youth at the Hamilton County Juvenile Services Center and a job placement program for moderately to severely disabled students at Riverview Hospital. Since his arrival in Noblesville Schools, state assessment scores for special-education students have risen dramatically. He also is credited with helping to develop the Noblesville Youth Assistance Program, is Hamilton County Leadership Academy graduate and is known for assisting employees in solving personal problems and enabling them to return to work. The district notes that Booth speaks and works from experience. He overcame heavy odds while growing up in the roughest and most dangerous neighborhood in Indianapolis, losing his mother when he was 8 years old, and being physically abused as a child.
“Working with my unbelievable Noblesville team, led by (Conner), has given me the opportunity and confidence to continue to try to touch lives,” Booth stated. “I just hope that this award will be shared by all those that have touched my life.” His is an honor richly deserved, and his work should serve as a blueprint for others to follow in his footsteps.
