PROVO — Bobbie Henderson is glad she fell through the cracks.
If she hadn't been one of the students that got left behind, she reasons, she would not have attended an alternative school.
"I never felt comfortable in high school," Henderson said. "I never felt it was a place for me."
After performing poorly at school and becoming a teenage mother, Henderson found herself at the Center for High School Studies, where she turned weaknesses into strengths.
"I'm a born procrastinator," Henderson said, speaking to a small crowd gathered at Centennial Middle School's cafeteria.
This tendency to delay schoolwork hurt her until the Center for High School Studies taught her to utilize it.
"Now I call it performing well under pressure," Henderson mused.
The Provo School District high school, which graduated 26 students Tuesday night, services teen parents and adults returning for high school diplomas.
Graduation numbers are down from previous years due to an improved job market, said Principal Jeraldene Swalberg. While white-collar jobs have declined, would-be students are still able to find basic-skills work, which keeps them from school.
Others, like adult student Trent Patton, juggle career and studies in order to graduate — a feat that took Patton six years.
"Maybe I can go on to something better," Patton said.
Shannon Poulsen, a member of the Provo School District Board of Education, gave each student a hammer.
Poulsen told them the hammers "can be used to build up or tear down — just like your knowledge."
"All through high school we were adults." Henderson said, adding a few words of counsel. "Always, always do your best — if you are a full-time mom, flipping burgers at Burger King or running the country."
E-mail: lsanderson@desnews.com