Marlon Felton, a longtime Niles North employee and previous assistant principal of operations, assumed the position of principal on July 1, 2024; this was made public by the district’s Deputy Superintendent Dr. Roszena Haskins in a District 219 board meeting on May 2.
Following this announcement, the audience of the board meeting responded with an eruption of cheers and applause; It was a shock to see such a local, recognizable figure take up this position—Dr. Jim Edwards, who had been principal from 2016 – 2024, had not been employed by the district before becoming principal. Haskins went on to say that Felton “was no stranger in this community” and that he “is very beloved,” that he had “a true love and investment in D219 and in [Niles] North.”
Superintendent Tom Moore would also give his own comments, stating that Felton became the “obvious choice” for the position due to North’s and the district’s love and support for him. Moore would go on to say that the deciding factor for the board’s decision was “[Felton’s] love for North,” saying that “Marlon’s a good man, and I mean that as the highest of compliments.” Still, at this time, juniors and underclassmen wondered what school life under Felton would be like, as compared to the friendly, ever-present face of Edwards that the students had grown so accustomed to.
With the first two months of the school year over, said students have already been talking about the now constant presence of Principal Felton and his contributions to the school community. As the years go by, it’s only a wonder what he may have in store for the future.
Why did you want to become principal? How does this position differ from assistant principal of operations? I always had aspirations to be a principal after I decided to leave the classroom and expand my reach beyond, into some leadership roles. [As] my first opportunity in a leadership role, I was Dean of Students, just working with students and staff. I [realized and recognized] my impact and I decided that I would just keep going up. I wanted to continue making an impact in different capacities of leadership throughout the building, throughout the district.
How have your previous experiences and job positions prepared you for this responsibility? Working as a teacher, just teaching and learning. Learning about our students, our school community, our staff. Then again, in the leadership roles that I was able to experience, I continued learning about how to support students and staff, [positive] initiatives, best practices, envisioning and eventually implementing my idea of what a positive high school experience would be and could be.
What do you hope to achieve in your first year as principal? I just hope to, for seniors, to have a really pleasant senior year, and overall a really cool high school experience here at Niles North. For [everyone else], I hope I make a good first impression as principal. [I hope] they are excited as I am for the years to come.
Being a principal will be hard work; what hobbies or activities help you to relax? Honestly, right now, I’m really enjoying attending some of the fall sports events: boys soccer, girls flag football, boys football. I’m looking forward to attending a match: tennis, volleyball, golf, cross country. That’s not necessarily downtime, but it’s something I enjoy doing right now, outside of the day-to-day things that come with the role.
What message do you have to students and staff as this year continues under your leadership? I’m looking forward to it—learning a lot about our students and staff—and I’m looking forward to a healthy and positive climate and culture [as well as] all the celebrations. The academic celebrations, the activities, clubs, athletic celebrations. Anytime we get an opportunity to celebrate any of our teammates’ achievements, it’s really positive and helps build on that team collaboration type of philosophy that I have. It makes everybody feel seen, heard, supported, and encouraged. While we’re here, I encourage [everyone] to come here and brighten up the day or days for one another.
