Hersey High Crowns Special Education Student as Homecoming Queen

Photo credit: District 214

A special education student at John Hersey High School has been elected as this year’s homecoming queen.

Jamie Brooks, 18, of Arlington Heights, was selected by her peers to wear this year’s crown along with homecoming king, Brett Miller, 18, of Arlington Heights.

Jamie’s mother, Cindy Brooks and her father, David Brooks; Jamie’s older sister, Hannah Brooks, 20; and Jamie’s twin brother Maxwell, were all at the coronation ceremony on Oct. 2 to show their support for Jamie, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Cindy told the Chicago Tribune that when Jamie was first born she worried her girl, who has Down syndrome, would be teased and bullied.

“But that has never happened,” Cindy Brooks said.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Jamie is very popular, and we have exceptional students here who recognize she’s an exceptional individual, and I’m incredibly proud of all of them,” Hersey Principal Gordon Sisson told the Chicago Tribune.

As for Jamie, she couldn’t be happier.

“I’m so happy,” Jamie told the Chicago Tribune, adding with a smile, “I’m the homecoming queen.”

Read the full story on the Chicago Tribune.