North Cook News

Charlotte Rex and her mother, Laura Lynn Schillmoeller, are exceptionally close, which isn’t always the case with a parent and a teenager.

Rex, a Rolling Meadows resident who is in her senior year of high school, said her mother “supports me in everything I do.” They share a common view on Arlington Heights Township High School District 214, which they think should reopen for classes.

The school district has most of it students learning remotely due to COVID-19 but does allow students who are homeless or have special needs to attend classes at a school building.

Rex is home schooling this year and it’s a disappointment for a student who excels in class and also enjoys the social aspects of education. She has attended classes in Illinois and Switzerland, but now finds herself studying at home.

“For high school I spent my freshman and sophomore years at Rolling Meadows High School,” Rex told North Cook News. “I spent the majority of my junior year at Alte Kantonsschule Aarau in Switzerland before I was sent home in March 2020. This year I am home schooling through Indiana University High School online.

“My favorite part of school is the social interaction, whether it be through messing around with friends in class or playing sports after school.”

When she was unable to complete her time in a Swiss school, she decided home schooling was an attractive option.

“I was very enthusiastic about home schooling this year,” Rex said. “My mom suggested the idea, but it was already in my head before she even brought it up. After being away from America for so long, I didn't feel much of a connection anymore to my American high school, so I wasn't concerned about missing out on much. 

“I miss being able to go to school events like football games and school dances but, honestly, I feel like my year abroad caused me to grow up significantly and those aren't nearly as important to me as they would've been a year ago,” she said.

Rex said she has had to explain her decision to classmates.

“My friends were originally skeptical about me doing home school. They questioned why I was doing it since my school went remote anyways, so they couldn't understand the difference,” she said. “For me, I struggle to learn with the traditional method of schooling. I have found that I get bored really easily and struggle to stay focused in class when someone is just talking at me. My home school program is significantly self-taught, so 100% of my focus goes to learning.”

Schillmoeller said she is glad her daughter is home-schooled.

“One of the best parental decisions I've ever made,” she said. “The curriculum is better and she's not spending all day staring at Zoom calls.”

Rex said there are hidden benefits to it as well.

“Now that I have gotten started, my friends are jealous," she said. "I get to sleep in a little later which they particularly envy, but they know that it is best for me and happy I found a way to make things work. They are frustrated that they are not back in school and find the Zoom meetings difficult. Without the in-person interaction a school setting gives, many students find it hard to find motivation to learn and show up to class. All of the social aspects of school have been taken away from us, which I find is one of the biggest problems.”

Her mother is advocating for the school district to resume in-person classes. She has started a Facebook page that had 865 members on Sept. 11.

“This whole topic is gaining traction,” Schillmoeller told North Cook News.

Rex is moving forward with her studies, accepting the fact that she will likely not return to a high school again as a student. It’s not how she pictured her last months in public school. 

“I was in Switzerland for eight months. I was supposed to be there for 11 but it was cut short due to coronavirus concerns,” she said. “Swiss school has a lot more of a ‘loose’ approach and a lot more freedom compared to American high school. It felt much more like a college atmosphere in Switzerland. I remember it being really strange to me to be able to walk into a school without a metal detector and an ID check in the lobby.”

That came to a sudden halt in the spring.

“They shut down their schools in early March. They were originally going to shut down for two weeks, then carry on with their three-week spring break and then return to school late April,” Rex said. “They extended this for a bit but returned to school in May. Switzerland was able to control the virus very well and prioritizes education, therefore schools opening was one of the main priorities and one of the first things to open up again. Restaurants, bars remained closed for a bit longer.”

It paid off too.

“Now school is completely back to normal, except for students needing to wear masks when inside,” she said. “Classes are exactly the same as they were previously and no other measures have been taken.”

At this point, she is looking ahead, not back, and Rex has plans for her future that display her confidence and ambition.

“After high school I am planning on attending a four-year college," she said. "Depending on how things are looking though, I may take a gap year and study elsewhere — possibly Switzerland again. I would find a college atmosphere centered around contact tracing and quarantining incredibly frustrating.

“I believe grown, adult students have the right to their own privacy, and colleges shouldn't be tracking their every movement. It almost seems like a '1984' kind of situation to me. I am hoping that by fall 2021 things will return as close to normal as possible, and that I will be able to have a traditional college experience. I am hoping to study foreign relations and conflict resolution, and use my degree toward a job working for the CIA or [the Department of] Homeland Security.”

The disruption of this year has affected her life in many ways.

“I really enjoy swimming and being in the water and I have played water polo my whole life,” she said. “But because of school and work right now, I am taking a break from sports. Now I spend most of my free time with my friends.”