Students lobby for alternative schools

SPRINGFIELD -- By age 15, Komaneque Bobbett thought she'd lost everything. Depressed and angry, she'd been kicked out of school.

But the Aurora teen landed a spot in North Aurora's Fox Valley Tech and Trade Center. Now, she wants to be an engineer and, in addition to biology and other classes, is learning to deal with her anger and social pressures.

"It's been great," she said during an interview in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday. "It gives us a chance to learn."

Bobbett was among the dozens of students at the Statehouse on Wednesday stressing the need for alternative and disabled education programs such as the one in North Aurora.

"Traditional school is not for everyone," said state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, an Aurora Democrat.

John Ritchey is the principal at Fox Tech, a private school where 150 students with tales similar to Bobbett's are enrolled. He said the school is designed to take children with behavior issues and attempt to refocus their educational efforts.

In addition to the core curriculum needed for a diploma, the school has a culinary arts program, basic woodworking classes and auto mechanics and welding sections.

At East Aurora High School, the focus is on students with hearing impairment. Specialized programs provide interpreters and other support so students have access to the general school curriculum and can learn alongside their friends and participate in sports and other school activities.

"It lets them stay in their home school," said Carrie Janes, a hearing itinerant at East Aurora and member of a statewide advisory board that makes recommendations on educating students with disabilities.