For Daniel, a school on his wavelength

 

TAMPA – To challenge students in his first-period social studies class, professional animator-turned-educator Nick Gallo-Lopez asked them to imagine being trapped in a maze of mirrors inhabited by a people-eating chandelier.

It wasn’t your typical social studies lesson. But then, Focus Academy isn’t your typical school, and these weren’t your typical students.

One student in particular stood out.

Daniel Miguenes, lean and long-limbed with dark, watchful eyes, stepped back as his classmates huddled. He remained silent as they chose partners and plotted their escape from the maze, as if separated from them by an invisible curtain.

Gallo-Lopez continued the lesson, occasionally attempting to lure Daniel in. But he didn’t push. Experience has taught him that forcing a student like Daniel to engage is like trying to convince a vegetarian to eat prime rib.

The last thing he wanted to do was unravel the bond he and his colleagues have forged with Daniel in the three years he’s been with them.

“It’s taken time to get on Daniel’s wavelength, to gain his trust,” Gallo-Lopez said. “Maintaining that connection is the key to his continued success, not just academically, but socially as well. That’s our goal here.”

* * *

Focus Academy is a charter school for intellectually disabled, specific learning disabled, and language impaired students aged 14 to 22.

Daniel is a perfect example of the type of student it strives to serve.

Daniel works on a skills inventory in Focus Academy teacher Eboni Reed’s class. The inventory is designed to help students at the charter school identify their goals, assess their strengths, and realistically determine how their disability could impact their goals. Reed, pictured here, encourages Daniel to discuss results that show he is honest, compassionate and enthusiastic.

Quiet and reserved when he first arrived, the 19-year-old slowly has become less isolated. And while his academic progress has been measured, his mother, Susan, sees it as miraculous.

Susan began to suspect there was something different about her son when he was two years old.

“One day, my husband was leaving for work,” Susan said. “Daniel’s brother, Nicholas, went to the window to wave bye-bye to Daddy, but Daniel flat-out refused.”

Soon, the only word Daniel would say was “no.”

The family’s pediatrician told her not to worry, that Daniel probably was hiding in his older brother’s shadow. But then Susan began noticing other things.

Daniel would lie on the floor for hours, rolling his Thomas the Tank engine back and forth. He couldn’t stand to have his hair washed or teeth brushed. He refused to eat foods that he called “scratchy.”

“Then he started trying to get away from me,” Susan said. “One day I saw him trying to unlock the front door, so we had to install a deadbolt.”

Wary that Daniel would be labeled but desperate for answers, Susan turned to the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System. It works in coordination with local school districts to identify children who are eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Testing indicated Daniel was autistic.

Susan enrolled Daniel in his zoned public school, where his Individualized Education Plan made him eligible for special services. He did well until the district cut its special education units. He finished elementary school in a general education setting, and heartened by his success, Susan placed him in the general education population at a private middle school. Again, he did well.

But for high school, Susan’s initial choice – a different charter school – didn’t work. Behavior that was okay for Daniel in middle school – getting up, walking around – was disruptive at his new school.

“I was getting phone calls and emails from his teachers telling me, ‘We have to meet,’ ” Susan said.

Daniel needed another option.

***

Loretta Gallo-Lopez (mother of teacher Nick Gallo-Lopez) is a licensed mental health counselor and drama therapist. She has worked for more than 25 years with children, adolescents and young adults with special needs. She spent a year writing the application for Focus Academy at the urging of two mothers, both struggling to find the right educational setting for their special needs children.

Daniel waits his turn on the stage during drama class at Focus Academy.

Josephine Isenbergh and Heather Rodriquez, now director of operations and marketing and technology manager, respectively, have been working alongside Gallo-Lopez, who serves as clinical director, since the charter school opened with 26 students in 2013. Now it has 97 students, and looks forward to the district’s renewal of its original five-year charter later this summer.

“Our long-term goal is not to expand to the point where we serve hundreds of students,” Isenbergh said. “We simply want to allow these young people to be who they need to be.”

Crucial to the success of special needs students, the trio agrees, is going beyond a diploma. They must be prepared emotionally to deal with the stress that goes with landing and keeping a job, including how to accept feedback from employers and interact appropriately with co-workers.

“That’s why we focus on problem-solving, how to ask questions, and how to self-advocate,” Gallo-Lopez said. “Our goal is to always keep them moving forward.”

Focus Academy’s approach relies largely on its two-year Transition program, which students become eligible for upon completion of their high school courses.

The first phase features on-campus training. The second consists of community-based internships at nine sites, including the city of Temple Terrace, a retirement center and a pizza restaurant.

Students report to their assigned workplace once or twice a week, and are supervised and supported by a Focus Academy “employability coach.” Periodic evaluation ensures the partnership is working for both student and employer.

Even before they enter the Transition program, students have campus jobs, working as teacher assistants, serving food in the cafeteria or helping in the front office. Each assignment is designed to foster team building.

Additionally, they’re encouraged to volunteer in the charter school’s food pantry.

“They’ve frequently been on the receiving end,” Gallo-Lopez said. “Understanding that they’re helping people in need builds that sense of self-worth.”

* * *

Three years ago, as Susan scrambled to find a solution for Daniel, a school psychologist told her about Focus Academy.

The charter school already was developing a reputation for its drama therapy program. It featured improvisation, scene acting and other theatrical exercises as a way for students to strengthen their ability to interact successfully with others.

Susan, Daniel and William Miguenes celebrate after the graduation ceremony at Focus Academy.

Susan toured the school and met with Gallo-Lopez, who explained Daniel would be able to receive a high school diploma via an “access point curriculum,” which tailors instruction to each student’s academic level and goals. She told Susan a maximum student-teacher ratio of 14-to-1 would provide Daniel with plenty of support.

Helping students move toward independence would begin on Day 1. Perhaps more important, Gallo-Lopez stressed, Focus Academy was a community with a distinct culture, where students accept each other with all their differences.

Susan began to reassess what she always assumed was best for Daniel.

“I wanted him to succeed like other kids,” she said. “We were trying to chase that diploma, when our focus should have been making sure he had friends and was being prepared for life after high school.”

As Daniel prepares to move into the Transition program, the changes she’s observed have been subtle but real.

He enjoys school-sponsored bowling trips with his classmates. Occasionally, he tells her about a girl he likes. He’s begun giving her hugs and petting the family dog.

“He knows he’s not in the same place as other people, and I think that makes him sad sometimes,” she said. “I still have to manage my expectations, but I continue to be surprised.”

* * *

In May, amid the rush leading up to graduation, educational assistant Summer Kiesel attempted to corral students in her music class. She called them together in a circle and encouraged them to “climb the mountain,” an exercise to get their blood pumping and breathing regulated.

Daniel hovered just outside the circle as Kiesel cued up music for a sing-along: “This is Me,” a selection from the movie “The Greatest Showman.” He craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Kiesel, then launched himself forward, circumnavigating the room in exaggerated, long-legged strides.

He came to a stop as Kiesel handed him a pair of maracas. Shaking them, at first tentatively and then with more confidence, he made one more circuit of the room.

Then he found a seat with his classmates and began to sing.

About Florida’s charter schools

Florida is home to more than 650 public charter schools, enrolling nearly 300,000 students. Sixty-two percent of Florida charter school students are black or Hispanic. More than half qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches. The state classifies 171 charter schools as academically high-performing.


Avatar photo

BY Donna Winchester

Donna Winchester is managing editor of redefinED. A former journalist, she spent 10 years covering K-12 and higher education for the Tampa Bay Times. She left the newsroom in 2009 to lead Pinellas County Schools' communications team and then served for four years as director of strategic communications at the University of Florida.

One Comment

Arlene Berrios

I had bad experience with Waterset Charter School.

Comments are closed.