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BY MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer 07/25/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Andy Molloy

SOLO GRADUATION: Chelsea Edgar, of Whitefield, marches into a graduation ceremony held in her honor Thursday at the Blaine House in Augusta. Edgar is the first to receive a "Maine Diploma," a high school diploma issued by the Department of Education for students who have pursued an alternative education.

enlarge Staff photo by Andy Molloy

SOLO GRADUATION: Chelsea Edgar, of Whitefield, holds up the diploma she received during a graduation ceremony held in her honor Thursday at the Blaine House in Augusta. Edgar is the first to receive a "Maine Diploma," a high school diploma issued by the Department of Education for students who have pursued an alternative education.

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But she continued her school work through an alternative education program, and earned the state's first-ever Maine Diploma, awarded in a Blaine House ceremony Thursday.

"I do not stand here a naive child," Chelsea said as she stood behind the podium at the Blaine House. "I stand here a well-educated woman."

Chelsea, in a white gown and cap and carrying a bouquet of flowers, marched from the sun room to the reception room where guests were seated. She marched alone to a rendition of "Pomp and Circumstance."

A new law passed last year by the Legislature allows the state Department of Education to issue diplomas to students who have experienced education disruption for reasons such as hospitalization or homelessness.

The diploma is intended for students who meet the minimum requirements of Maine Learning Results tests, but who are not able to meet the graduation requirements of their local school system. That might be due to poor attendance or other requirements.

In Chelsea's case, the 18-year-old has an anxiety disorder that affected her health and caused her to miss too many days of school.

Driving her anxiety was the loss of her father eight years ago.

Chelsea was 10 when she got off the school bus one day and found her father's body. Her dad, David Edgar, had died of a heart attack.

Seeing that she was having difficulty meeting the level of knowledge and skills required by Maine Learning Results, school officials decided an alternative education program offered by Union 132 at the superintendent's office, might be the best way for her to succeed. Union 132 includes Chelsea, Jefferson and Whitefield.

Susan Gendron, commissioner of the state Education Department, said Chelsea's achievement exemplifies what the Maine Learning Results tests are all about: providing multiple pathways for students to learn.

She said Chelsea had to prove to the review team that she had met the Maine Learning Results standards.

"She had to produce evidence that she met the standards of the Learning Results," Gendron said before the ceremony. "She provided a portfolio and brought in milk crates of the work she had done, and answered questions asked by the panel and demonstrated all she achieved. And let me tell you, she blew their socks off."

Chelsea said Union 132's alternative education program is supported by a great group of educators who believe in every student, even those who learn differently.

She named a few of the key people in her life who helped her meet the challenge, including her mother, Mary Edgar-Larrabee; teachers in the alternative program; and Superintendent Frank Boynton.

Boynton, who attended the ceremony, said Union 132 has had some form of alternative education program for the past seven years.

"We try very hard to help our students be successful," Boynton said. "And that's what it's all about. The challenge has been a way to award a diploma and this has been a good route to do that."

Chelsea said she would like to see the stigma that surrounds alternative education programs "washed away."

She said some of the students in those programs have behavioral problems, but that doesn't mean they are slow or stupid.

Through the program at Union 132, Chelsea said she gained confidence and was able to challenge herself in everything she did without fear of failing

Most importantly, she said she was able to grow as a person.

Chelsea said she is enrolled at the Kennebec Valley Community College, where she will study to become a massage therapist. It's a one-year program

"I'll start full-time in the fall," she said. "It's a lucrative foundation to step off of if it's not what I want to do in life."

Her advice to other students who are struggling: "Don't lose faith," she said. "And know that there are people out there to help you. They're good educators who spend their lives dedicated to helping people like you."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com

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