The vast majority of H-F students have no idea about all that happens in school outside of their 6-7 class periods. The lunch ladies are cooking, the deans are running errands around the school, counselors are helping students, and secretaries are taking phone calls. Amongst all of this on the third floor of North building there’s a hallway of students practically isolated from the rest of the school. 

According to the Illinois school code section 13A alternative schooling is aimed towards “disruptive students who are the primary cause of inappropriate educational environments” and requires each school to  “fully fund alternative schools as soon as possible, thereby providing school districts with an option for dealing with disruptive students that they do not now possess.” With Delta technically being classified as “outside” of H-F not much information about the program is detailed in the Homewood Flossmoor High school student handbook. However the program still remains as a well known figure throughout the school.

With this in mind, what’s it like in Delta? 

Delta students usually begin their day at 9:00  by entering the school in the back of the North building by the football fields. Delta students are not permitted to have any personal electronics of any kind in the building and have to give their phones to a teacher as soon as they step into the building. From this point they sit in a classroom for three hours working on an online education program called Acellus. After this work time students go down stairs only to receive their lunches however they only actually eat in their classroom.

 This time is more leisurely and students are allowed to listen to their music and relax. After lunch was over students returned to their online work until their isolated gym class in North gym. After gym, students would either do more work or participate in Delta seminar which is a therapy-like program that encourages students to set goals and plan for their future. Once all of this is completed Delta students end their day at 2:00. 

The reformatory efforts however seem to differ from student to student as the experience there seems to vary. 

Of course with each student’s personality and background being different the effects and helpfulness of Delta are debated. While some feel like it was an effective way to teach disruptive students the consequences to their actions, others felt the program was isolating and embarrassing. “For the first couple of months my mental health went down because I was completely separated from everyone  except my family and the people in Delta,” a former Delta student notes. “All I really learned from my experience of being caught is how to not get caught”. It’s Implied that the isolation is necessary to discourage students from acting out but the method of reform is bound to have negative side effects for the students involved. 

However  the program has its success stories 

After spending two semesters in the program this anonymous student claims that he’s come out a better person. “I definitely think it impacted me positively, it really made me think about what my actions caused,”  the former Delta student says. Things are  not all grim for Delta students as they are eligible to get out of the program if they display good grades, proper behavior, and consistent attendance. 

In the end there is no perfect way to correct behavior in schools as everyone comes from different backgrounds and environments. However, making a change is the first step.