from the LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-miller5jul05,1,4540407.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
Milestone on Hard Road
Graduates of a special-ed campus in Reseda leave behind a
nurturing environment and take tentative steps toward
bigger challenges.
By Rachana Rathi, Times Staff Writer
The Class of 2005 banner hung across the small stage in Joaquin Miller High School’s multipurpose room. Nicholas Gallant was wheeled to the stage, shaking a rattle. Genevieve Gonzales giggled as she walked in her cap and gown.
A bus driver played “Pomp and Circumstance” on the piano. A speaker read messages to each student from the teacher. And all the students handed their parents or guardians a rose to say “thank you.”
The recent occasion marked one more momentous milestone for the 16 graduates of the special education high school.
Genevieve learned to read two-syllable words.
Nicholas, who doctors said wouldn’t live past his first birthday, turned 22.
Amada Vega developed the social skills and independence she needed to get a summer job busing tables at a cafe.
Leaving high school this June was the first step toward independence for Miller’s students and about 29,000 others in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The departure for those with developmental disabilities, like Genevieve and her classmates, is a scary first step into adulthood — one that holds a limited promise of freedom and possibility.
Many special education students struggle with tasks people half their age can accomplish with ease. Some don’t understand the value of money. Others aren’t able to communicate their needs and desires and will always be dependent on other people.
At Miller, students learn daily living and vocational skills, including how to ride a public bus, pay for groceries and even pursue a job as a baker, gardener or assembly-line worker.
When they leave school, these students lose a built-in social network and an environment where they are accepted. Their parents lose a daily seven-hour reprieve.
“Life changes for these kids pretty dramatically” after graduation, said Principal Wayne Foglesong. “This is the best time in their lives for most of them. They’re engaged every day. This school is designed for them and the staff is committed to them in the same way.”
Miller, in Reseda, opened in 1958 and is among the oldest of 18 special-ed schools in the district. Ninety-plus teachers, assistants and administrators cater to its 200 students’ diverse needs and abilities.
In L.A. Unified, 4,200 of the 34,000 students who attend special-ed classes do so on campuses designed solely for them. Federal law requires school districts to provide public education to students with developmental disabilities until they turn 22.
All of the students at Miller have at least one developmental disability, a severe mental or physical impairment that begins before the age of 18 and is expected to continue indefinitely. This includes autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation. Most of the students have multiple disabilities.
They are typical teenagers and young adults in some respects. They form cliques, flirt, tease, joke and gossip like their peers without disabilities.
But in other ways, they are worlds apart. At the prom, students are excited to see the principal arrive. At lunch, faculty and staff hang out or play basketball with students. And before graduation, teachers and assistants dress the graduates in their caps, gowns and carnations.
“This is an environment that is very nurturing and provides the students and their families with an unbelievable amount of support,” said Cyndi Olson, a Los Angeles Unified transition teacher who works with students to identify and meet their post-graduation goals. “When the student reaches 22, the family is in for a shock because no longer do they have this safe and compassionate environment for their child to go to.”
The move out of high school is often jarring and stressful for parents of special education students. They are confronted with their child’s limitations and lose the support of the public school system. This is particularly hard for families at Miller, where students such as Genevieve become part of the school’s social fabric.
Genevieve
“Her enthusiasm can brighten any room.”
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