D211 student a role model for alternative education

Laura Delgado’s story diverged from that of the typical high school senior three years ago, but that didn’t show as she marched in her cap and gown after earning her Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 diploma.

If the situation held normal and Delgado graduated from Hoffman Estates High School in four years, the 21-year-old would have received her diploma in 2008. Instead, pregnancy led her to drop out of school.

“When I had left school for the first time, I was doing home school when I was pregnant with him,” Delgado said, looking at her 5-year-old son, Elijah. “And then when that kind of got messed up, due to some other things, I decided night school would be the best way.”

She flourished at night school with a 4.0 GPA, which helped lead teachers at District 211’s Alternative High School to choose Delgado as commencement speaker for this year’s graduation. Her mother, Jacqueline Delgado, watched in the audience with Elijah as his mother gave the address.

Created in 1992, the program offers night classes to students who drop out of high school. It takes three semesters, including a summer session, with about 100 to 125 students enrolled in each 15-week session.

The hours, from 7 to 10 p.m., allow students to work full time. For Delgado, work helps support her son and family, which also includes younger sister Sarah.

Today, Delgado is full of confidence, one of the reasons her teachers picked her. But that wasn’t always the case after her son’s birth.

“I wasn’t working for quite a few months — I went through a little bit of depression. I wasn’t really doing anything at that time,” said Delgado, who now lives in Arlington Heights.

Watching the friends she grew up with graduate before her was tough. Her friends weren’t familiar with Alternative High School, and that embarrassed Delgado. That’s changed now.

“I realized that we kind of work at our own pace; we do things for ourselves and not for everybody else,” she said. “For me it took a couple years extra, and a little longer, but all that mattered is that I actually did it.”

Now with her diploma in hand, she’s eyeing classes at Harper College in Palatine and eventually medical school. She wants to be a pediatric cardiologist.

“It really enlightened her; it really brought out even more of what I knew she had,” her mom said. “She was excited when she came home and talked about it.”

Even though she was older than most of the students enrolled this session, she’s not the oldest to graduate from Alternative High School. The oldest was 79, said the program’s registrar, Joan Froehlich.

Charles Chamberlain, director of summer school, evening programs and continuing education for District 211, oversees the Alternative High School and is proud of the second chance the program affords students. Students receive a District 211 high school diploma, which has much more value than a general equivalency diploma (GED), he said.

“Our class sizes are smaller; there’s more of a connectedness to the instructor when compared to classes with 30-plus students,” he said.

The program offers core classes such as English, math, science, U.S. history and social studies. The only cost to students is a $12 book-rental fee. Classes follow the same holiday schedules as other District 211 schools.

Delgado worried about child care for Elijah and said she was fortunate to find a baby sitter. She said she wasn’t prepared for night classes at first.

“I thought it was just like day school,” she said. “Night school’s totally different. It’s much more intimate; there’s definitely more one-on-one.”

During her sophomore year, Delgado worked at Subway, then at a couple stores at Woodfield Shopping Center. She even put in a stint at Medieval Times and Robbins Brothers jewelers. Now she works at Black Tie Formalwear. She said she makes decent money for her age, but she knows she wants more for her and her family.

Delgado’s classmates looked up to her, said James Kelly, who taught Delgado and said she excelled in the classroom.

“She epitomizes the success of Alternative High School education,” he said. “She rises over adversity and reaches her goals.”

Delgado shrugs off role-model status. Although she’s encouraging her sister Sarah to enroll in Alternative High School, she said she feels guilty for her sister dropping out in the first place.

As his mom got her photo taken, 5-year-old Elijah was boisterous. He didn’t like posing for photos and joked about how much his mother enjoys sleeping after her long days. Sometimes he wakes up at night and finds the need to wake up his mom.

“Sometimes I spank her in the butt,” the youngster said with a laugh.

But at the same time, he’s proud of his mom, and when asked if he wants to graduate high school and wear one of those funny caps called mortarboards, he enthusiastically said, “Yes.”