West Valley’s post secondary program: combining life and academic skills in special education

While standing on the podium and receiving a diploma marks the end of high school for most students at SHS, for many seniors in the special education program, their high school careers have yet to end.  

West Valley’s post-secondary transition program is the continuation of the district’s special education program and the road to a high school diploma. There, students learn life skills along with academic skills until they turn 22, the age at which the state discontinues its responsibility for the public education of students with special needs.

At the end of senior year, eligible students in the special education program decide whether to graduate with a high school diploma or a certificate of completion. If they graduate with a diploma, then the state is no longer responsible for the student’s public education. If opting to the second choice, the students will continue to be eligible for school services, such as their aids, and work toward their diplomas through the post-secondary transition program.

“Almost all families want their students to graduate with a diploma,” assistant principal Kerry Mohnike said. “That being said, a diploma is not always the best option for students with special needs because they no longer have eligibility to the services.”

Currently, West Valley’s special education program consists of 15 students, along with six instructional aides. Students still experience the full college life, attending classes, having personalized schedules and finding jobs.

Senior Brian Chenault, along with the five other seniors in SHS’s special education program, decided to graduate with a certificate of completion and continue education at West Valley.

“I made the choice to go there because a lot of my friends are going there and I’d love to socialize with them,” Chenualt said.

The post-secondary transition program strives to prepare its students for adult life and independent living. Jennifer Zevallos, who oversees the program along with Kevin Mallane, stresses the importance of helping the students find work.

“We have a few main goals but one is work,” Zevallos said. “That’s huge. Our goal would be that every student have a job by the time they leave at age 22.”

Students in post-secondary transition work both paid and unpaid jobs. Two students currently work at Ariosa Diagnostics, a biotechnology company in San Jose. Others participate in volunteer work, dedicating their time to the Los Gatos Library, Saratoga Civic Center, Los Gatos Creek Trail and the food bank in San Jose.

Stating independent living as the second main goal, Zevallos hopes that the program can train each student can become “as independent as their disability allows them” to be.

“For some of them, that means a paid job, living on their own, and getting a paid job on their own,” Zevallos said. “But others, they’ll probably always live with assisted living or their parents. Nevertheless, our two main goals are independence and work.”

The day for a post-secondary student starts at 8 a.m., when the students and teachers meet to “touch base” before the day begins. Then, the students head off to their respective college classes, ranging from drama, to P.E, to computer arts. When students are not in class, they can choose what to do with their free time, like any other college student.

As young adults, the students are encouraged to have a recreational life and enjoy the freedom of being a college student. One student even drives.

“They might go lunch with a couple of friends, or hang out in the library,” SHS special education teacher Lisa McCahill said. “Just like regular college kids.”

Adhering to this mindset, Zevallos believes that age always trumps disability when it comes to interacting with the students.

“For [teachers], it’s really important that we treat them according to their age, so no matter how severely disabled they are, we treat them like 20-year-olds,” she said. “The students have different limits and different strengths, but we try to find what they can do independently within that.”

But unlike regular college students, who take classes with higher teacher to student ratios, students in the post-secondary transition program receive more individualized attention. As the severity of disabilities varies, teachers focus on helping each student based on their situation.

“That’s what makes [special education] great,” McCahill said. “Its not cookie-cutter, it’s not like ‘let’s have a program and fit the students within.’ [Rather, it’s] ‘let’s look as the students as an individual and see what their strengths are and see what they work on and create a program from that.’”