HR0611 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0611 LRB104 19330 ECR 32777 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dr. Nick Polyak, an educator for 27 years, has held the rank of school superintendent for 17 years; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Polyak has been the superintendent of Leyden High School District #212 (Leyden District #212) since 2013; and

WHEREAS, Leyden District #212 includes students from Franklin Park, Northlake, Rosemont, Schiller Park, River Grove, Melrose Park, and unincorporated Leyden Township; and

WHEREAS, The students and families of Leyden District #212 represent a wide variety of identities, social classes, and income levels; and

WHEREAS, The job of being the superintendent of a high school district is often a lightning rod, with personnel, parents, students, and taxpayers holding distinct and separate opinions about the education of young people; and

WHEREAS, The challenges facing districts with identities like Leyden #212 can make these differences of opinion even stronger; and

WHEREAS, As a leader, Dr. Polyak has worked tirelessly to bring separate groups together to discuss their issues and concerns, and he has enabled the continued operation of Leyden District #212 as a place of education and preparation for young adults; and

WHEREAS, As a fiscal manager and planner, Dr. Polyak has implemented more than $200 million in Leyden District #212 facility modernization projects without raising local property tax rates; and

WHEREAS, As an educational pioneer, Dr. Nick Polyak built upon the 2012 pioneering move by Leyden District #212 to become one of the first three school districts in the United States to implement Chromebooks as an alternative learning platform, and his continued push for enhancing e-learning platforms positioned Leyden District #212 as one of only three school districts to be approved for the 2015 Illinois emergency e-learning pilot program and made Leyden District #212 one of the best-prepared public school systems in Illinois for implementation of the pandemic orders of March 2020; and

WHEREAS, As a promoter of student morale and self-esteem, Dr. Polyak has expanded the universe of lettered/quasi-lettered student experiences to cover e-sports and flag football, joining the 29 interscholastic sports and 95 club activities offered in Leyden District #212; and

WHEREAS, As a friend of the educator profession of school superintendency, Dr. Polyak has developed and taught the Illinois Aspiring Superintendent Academy for over ten years; in this Academy, he guided, taught, and, in some cases, mentored more than 100 participants who are now serving as superintendents throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) works through an independent panel to discern and name its roll of Superintendents of the Year; and

WHEREAS, In November 2025, the IASA named Dr. Polyak as the 2026 Illinois Superintendent of the Year; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Nick Polyak on being honored as the 2026 Illinois Superintendent of the Year; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we wish many years of continued executive educator achievement for Dr. Polyak, the teachers that work with him, and his executive educator staff; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we look forward with eager anticipation to the future achievements of the adults who have graduated from or passed through the Leyden High School District #212 system, with an eye to the grounding they have received from the social capital achieved there; and be it further

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