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Proviso 209 honors aviation educator Tamara Holmes; community presses board to adopt her AeroStar program
Summary
The Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education read and entered a resolution honoring Dr. Tamara L. Holmes and heard multiple public commenters asking the district to memorialize her with a room or program, and to implement the AeroStar Avion Institute pipeline within the district.
The Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education on Jan. 14 entered a formal resolution honoring Dr. Tamara L. Holmes and heard a sustained public request from alumni, family members and community organizations to dedicate a classroom or other commemorative space and to implement the AeroStar Avion Institute career pipeline she founded.
Speakers at the public-comment portion described Holmes as a pioneer in minority aviation education and asked the board to take concrete steps to preserve her legacy within the district. Trustee Rick Williams said, “We have come to celebrate her life here today, but we've come also to ask the board to assist us in a resolution.” Family members and classmates urged the board to consider naming a hallway, lab or classroom for Holmes and to adopt the AeroStar program districtwide.
Why this matters: Holmes’ work focused on creating a pathway from K–12 into aviation careers for students underrepresented in STEM and aviation. Community members argued that bringing AeroStar into Proviso East, Proviso West and other district schools would both honor Holmes and expand local career-readiness opportunities.
Details and requests: Mayor Nathaniel Booker told the board his group had secured funding for three years to run an AeroStar aviation program and urged the district to support its implementation. A letter from AeroStar's executive director, Christie Farrakhan, was read into the record and emphasized that AeroStar’s “pipeline” includes AeroSpark for K–4, an aviation exploration curriculum for grades 5–8, and apprenticeship-level coursework for high school students, including ground-school and drone licensure training. Family members and classmates described Holmes as a Maywood native and Proviso East graduate and asked for a mural, classroom dedication or program adoption by the district.
Board action and next steps: The resolution honoring Dr. Holmes was read aloud by board leadership and will be entered into the district record; board members invited the family forward after the reading. Several speakers said they are preparing community fundraisers and memorial events to support a local student scholarship and an AeroStar partnership. The board did not adopt a program implementation plan at the meeting; district staff said informational materials and next steps on program and partnership requests would be provided at later meetings.
Community context and resources: Community presenters noted prior meetings with district staff and said Holmes had previously petitioned the district to adopt aviation programming. The AeroStar representatives present described established college and industry relationships they say provide apprenticeship, certification and higher-education transfer opportunities for participating students.
Looking ahead: Family members and alumni asked the board to consider both a physical memorial (mural, room dedication or hall naming) and an instructional partnership that would place AeroStar’s curriculum into district schools. District leaders signaled they will circulate additional information on how to proceed and welcomed coordination between the AeroStar organization, the Holmes family and district staff.
