The Sara L. Spurlark Award

08/19/2025

Susan Spurlark was able to get into Chicago from her home in Washington DC just in time to greet our 2024 4-year winner, Kenwood Alum Leah Norwood, and participate in the Spurlark Award presentation, as Leah heads back to DC to start her second year at Howard University. Thank you, our treasurer Jasmin Jenkins, for hosting us and getting that check ready! Leah was even more impressive in person. We know why she won, and look forward to her continued advancement in her career choice of Education and her advocation of service.

Michelle Bey-Williams

06/13/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Sara L. Spurlark Award Announces Local 2025 Winners

Chicago, IL, 06-13-25 – The Board of The Sara Spurlark Award is excited to announce the 2025 award recipients from two Hyde Park area high school Academies. The competitive award, in its 36th year, is named after Sara L. Spurlark, a longtime Hyde Park Kenwood resident, community leader, and champion for high-quality public education. It recognizes graduating high school seniors for their academic excellence, outstanding community service, and exemplary leadership. In recognition of Sara Spurlark’s family history and early experience at a Historically Black College and University, Awards in 2025 will be given to outstanding students who select an HBCU.
The selection of winners is a rigorous process. Reviewers who are themselves community and public health leaders and advocates consider class ranking, answers to essay questions, and letters of reference from teachers and community leaders. This year’s applications reflected amazing talent, deep commitment to service, resilience, and outstanding dedication to excellence.
The First Place, Multi-Year, award for Kenwood Academy goes to Adeeb Borden, who will be attending Morehouse College, where he plans to continue growing his leadership skills and pursue a career dedicated to educational equity and advocacy. This first-place recognition provides funds that can be used for college-related expenses this year, and additional funds will continue as the winner maintains good academic performance through the next four undergraduate college years.
Kenwood had two award winners tie for 2nd place. They are Saniya As-Salaam and Symon’e Brown. Both students chose to attend the largest HBCU, North Carolina A & T State University, known for its national reputation and excellent ranking as one of the best small universities for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and its extensive doctoral and research programs.
The 2025 Sara Spurlark Award winner from Hyde Park Academy is Ijah Rashad. Ms Rashad plans to pursue a healthcare career and has also selected North Carolina A & T State University as her college destination.
THE SARA L. SPURLARK AWARD
The Spurlark Award is a 501c3 non-profit organization established by friends and admirers of the late Mrs. Sara Spurlark following her retirement as principal of the William H Ray School in January 1990. Mrs. Spurlark headed the Science department, and taught Biology and Chemistry when Kenwood High School (now Kenwood Academy) first opened in 1966. A few years later, she became one of Kenwood’s Assistant Principals. In 1979, she was appointed Principal of the William H. Ray Elementary School.
Continuing her advocacy for excellence in public education after her retirement, Mrs. Spurlark, a former University of Chicago Ph.D. candidate, joined the University of Chicago as a lecturer and became a founding member and Co-Director of the University’s Center for Urban School Improvement, now the Urban Education Institute, which was formed to provide support for the Chicago Public Schools. The Institute mentors principals, creates and supports leadership teams, and develops literacy programs. Mrs. Spurlark remained as Co-Director of the institute until her final retirement in 2005, at the age of 81.

The Spurlark Award Committee is grateful for ongoing community support.
To learn more about the Spurlark Award, please visit http://spurlarkaward.org.
or follow us on social media at:
https://www.facebook.com/Spurlarkaward
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12/03/2024

IT'S GIVING TUESDAY! PLEASE DONATE TO THE SARA SPURLARK AWARD SCHOLARSHIP FUND TODAY.

You can make a difference by donating today to The Sara L. Spurlark Award. Ev… The Sara L. Spurlark Award needs your support for 2024-2025 Sara Spurlark Award

06/10/2024

Three Sara Spurlark Awardees were announced at Kenwood Academy graduation on May 28.

Four hundred and eighty one seniors graduated from Kenwood Academy on Tuesday in a cheerful ceremony that celebrated the final class to have their schooling impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

01/19/2024

Four months out from high school graduation season, organizers of the neighborhood’s Sara Spurlark scholarship are working to grow the fund to help offset the rising cost of higher education.

01/19/2024

The latest Hyde Park Herald highlights the Sara Spurlark Award.

Four months out from high school graduation season, organizers of the neighborhood’s Sara Spurlark scholarship are working to grow the fund to help offset the rising cost of higher education.

12/31/2023

11/28/2023

It’s GIVING TUESDAY!! These awards go to Kenwood and Hyde Park Academies graduates every year!
From new board chair, my sister Deborah Willis-Fillinger:

"From dissecting frogs to medical school and beyond... I couldn't have done it without great teachers and mentors like Sara Spurlark to point the way! And now we're the elders.. and its our turn. Please join me in supporting our future leaders. See Below. No donation is too small.'

You can make a difference by donating today to the Sara L. Spurlark Award wh… The Sara L. Spurlark Award needs your support for Winter 23-24 Scholarship Fund

11/25/2023

PLEASE NOTE: GIVING TUESDAY is November 28, 2023

November 24, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
(Chicago, IL) Announcing New Board Chair for High School Scholarship Awards

The Board of Directors of the Sara L. Spurlark Award is pleased to announce that they have selected Deborah Willis-Fillinger, M.D., as CEO/President of the board. The Sara L. Spurlark Award was established in 1990 to provide monetary gifts for graduating seniors committed to community service. The award selected students from Kenwood Academy in Chicago, Illinois, and in recent years, expanded to include graduating seniors from Hyde Park Academy. In 2023, Hyde Park Academy's Serenity Seals and Kenwood Academy's Tracilyn Addo received cash awards.

For many years, the Award was ably led by Ms. Yelene Modley, former Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and is currently Principal of Wells L. Baker Strategies, LLC. Other Spurlark Award board members include Michelle Bey-Williams, Sabria Harris, Jasmin Jenkins, Tara Leonard, Susan Rogers, Aurelia Spurlark, Susan Spurlark, and Judith Stanton.

Deborah Willis-Fillinger is a Chicago native and graduate of the first Kenwood High School class of 1970, where Sara Spurlark taught biology and was Vice Principal. Willis-Fillinger graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and later joined the National Health Service Corps to help with medical school tuition at The Chicago Medical School (now Rosalind Franklin University). She continued as a physician with the U.S. Public Health Service, where she helped support and direct a national community health clinician recruitment and training network and later directed an international network of HIV/AIDS provider training programs. Throughout her career, she developed partnerships focused on health equity as she collaborated with federal, state, and community partners, hospitals, health departments, and healthcare foundations to support a national safety net system of healthcare in every state and U.S. territory while also serving as an Internal Medicine physician on public health service deployments, and through locum tenens support to health centers and hospitals across the Midwest and South Florida.

Deborah, who was one of Ms. Spurlark’s biology students in her first years at Kenwood, retired from government service in 2018 and has since leveraged her passion for equity and her leadership skills, coaching small business entrepreneurs, implementing wellness programs and managing Dr. Deb’s Essentials, a health and wellness consulting business. A natural connector and advocate for others, the Sara L. Spurlark Award Board looks forward to her leadership.

As we begin our 34th year, please consider supporting the Sara L. Spurlark Award mission by replying to our letters or visiting us during this fall fundraising season at SpurlarkAward.org or our GoFundMe site at https://gofund.me/f0bc017a. Emails can be sent to [email protected].