Galapagos Islands trip a reality for educator

Peggy Deichstetter calls it a dream trip for a biology teacher.

Next week she will be jetting off to the Galapagos Islands, the World Heritage Site off the coast of Ecuador known for its role in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

"I am going to get to see the blue-footed boobies, see the tortoises, the finches," the St. Edward Central Catholic High School teacher said. "I'm taking lots of pictures. It's just so exciting."

Deichstetter was one of two dozen teachers from around the country selected for the Toyota International Teacher Program trip.

She'll spend a week and a half on the islands of Santa Cruz and San Cristobal, talking with community leaders and environmental experts, meeting other teachers and participating in activities that encourage conservation.

"Every biology teacher wants to go to the Galapagos," she said. "It's wonderful when teachers are given this opportunity. It doesn't happen often."

Deichstetter said she grew up in Elmwood Park, and has been a teacher for 36 years -- the last 31 at St. Ed's in Elgin.

"I love to see the light bulbs come on," she said. "That, to me, is just wonderful."

She said she applied for the Galapagos trip last spring, but didn't find out she was going until this year, on the last day of school before summer vacation.

"I was walking out of the building and one of my colleagues said I had mail," she said. "It was just an accident. I would have left the building and not been back."

The Rev. Edward Seisser, superintendent at St. Ed's, said he's glad Deichstetter didn't miss her opportunity.

"It's tremendously exciting obviously for her and all of us here," Seisser said. "We congratulate her."

He also pointed out that this isn't the first time Deichstetter has gotten national recognition.

In 2005, she earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

"She's obviously been recognized for the outstanding teacher that she is," Seisser said.