Though an integral part of the Ayala student body, Special Education (SPED) remains a lesser-known topic in discussions. Many times, students will encounter SPED students in the morning or during lunchtime, so this article will provide a full overview of SPED teachers’ hard work and how the education prepares students post-graduation.
What is SPED?
As required by the district and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), residents from birth to age 21 who have disabilities are provided with full educational opportunities.
The special education teachers at Ayala are Ms. Yi Eubanks and Mr. Thomas Proprofsky, who teach 18- to 21-year-old students with severe special needs, Chet Schuster, who works as a case carrier, and Paige Stephanie, who teaches ninth to twelfth-grade students with special needs.
What are the students in SPED working on? What is their schedule like?
“It’s a token system. So they want to work for watching the Chromebook for 15 minutes. They want to work for playing video games, so they learn the value of ‘if I do this, then I get this,’” Proprofsky said.
This teaching principle is shared by Eubanks, who sets up prizes to give out to students. She opens the ‘store’ at a set time, and students use what they’ve earned to exchange for prizes.
“It’s very similar to Bulldog Bucks, but it’s fake money that I print out. And then they earn one per day, and then they have to exchange it for stuff,” Eubanks said. “So this way, I kill two birds with one stone. I teach them about money, and then I teach them about saving.”
But this doesn’t mean students are forced into rigid routines everyday. Teachers try to diversify their teaching methods and help them work towards living self-sufficiently.
“Certain things will change [during the week]. We may go to Trader Joe’s and get ingredients for a recipe. We’ll go one by one and find out what we need and they will write down the prices,” Proprofsky said. “Today, we went to a martial arts studio and we helped clean and organize it around there.”
This method of teaching often means teachers spend their own money to get these supplies. For example, Proprofsky spent his own salary on tactile devices, grips, and calming bubble machines for his classroom.
What are students with special needs working on post-graduation?
Just like students in general education, students with special needs have different goals to work toward. Some will go into a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), an educational program and regional center that allows them to continue their education. Learning and training may take a long time before they gain employment. Some will work on the Life Skill program, where they work on being as independent as they possibly can in a community, at a job, or at home.
“We’re practicing job skills or resume skills, but more specifically, transitional programs. We’ll go to the Inland Regional Center. We’ll go to places like the No Limit Learning Center that focuses on academics, reading, health, yoga, computers,” Proprofsky said.
Everyone’s journey is unique, so the best way to start the students’ journey is to try and prepare them for life post-graduation. This means they will meet with other state agencies; for example, the Department of Rehabilitation for job placement.
“A large part of after they graduate is they do the same thing that everybody does–try and find school whether that’s a trade school, a four year college or community college, and then ideally work while they’re going to school,” Schuster said.
Some of the students went on to go into Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and even larger schools in Northern California.
What are some general misconceptions towards the community?
Many times, it is the lack of understanding and knowledge that breeds misconceptions. With many misconceptions throughout society, teachers and caretakers are the main people who break down these rumors.
“I think there’s a common misconception that there’s no different levels of special education. So many students that have an Individualized Education Program are in your class already, and nobody knows that they have any accommodation for disabilities or anything like that. But then, you have some more severe disabilities that are more visual to everybody, more noticeable,” Schuster said.
“When I was working with students, [for example], students who have difficulty with their behavior issues, a lot of the time it’s from people not understanding them,” Proprofsky said.“The minute you talk to my students like they’re children is the minute they’ll disrespect you, because you are not respecting them.”
There are moments of rewards and progress as SPED teachers and staff members at Ayala have worked hard to ensure that the students are given the best preparation for their future.
“I’d say we’re the best. We are the best in the state,” Schuster said. “We actually have someone here every Wednesday who’s helping students for job placement or college placement or just gathering materials. We’re one of the few places that get a lot of our students into four year schools as well.”
