Frenchel Delgado dropped out of Senn High School two years ago because, as she tells it, she could not conform to the rules, had a tough time getting herself to classes and felt lost in the swarm of students vying for the teacher’s attention.
But after a few weeks sitting at home contemplating her bleak future of minimum-wage jobs, Delgado decided to enroll at Antonia Pantoja School, an alternative school for dropouts.
“It saved my life,” recalled Delgado, now 18. “If it wasn’t for the school, I’d probably be working at McDonald’s or sitting at home watching TV.”
Delgado was one of about 150 high school students who rallied at the Thompson Center Thursday, urging state educators to restore funding for Pantoja and 10 other alternative high schools in Chicago that did not win competitive state grants this year.
Carrying placards with “We Need Money 4 Graduation Not Incarceration,” the teenagers paraded around the plaza shouting “restore our money.”
Three students hand-delivered a letter to Illinois State Board of Education officials asking the agency to reverse its decision.
“If they don’t give us the money back, a lot of kids are going to end up on the street,” said Lamont Matthews, 18, who attends Community Christian Alternative Academy.
The Illinois State Board of Education decided earlier this year not to renew a $2 million grant to City Colleges of Chicago, which administers the Alternative Education Consortium, a partnership of public, private and community-based organizations that run schools for high school dropouts. Members of the consortium said the grant represents about 30 percent of their budget and, if not restored, would force them to turn youngsters away.
The 11-school consortium enrolls about 600 students a year. About 4,200 dropouts have earned high school diplomas during the program’s 18 years.
Naomi Greene, spokeswoman for the state board, said the money for the program comes through a competitive grant and the City Colleges application ranked near the bottom this year.
The applications are ranked by outside evaluators based on a host of factors, including whether there is need for the program and whether the goals are well defined.
Chicago Public Schools also provides alternative schooling at three high schools.
