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VISTA: Disabled teens get a chance to rock out
VHS club performs concert for Sierra Vista students
By STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer | ∞
Tony Schwatz, lead singer Type A, leaps into the air as he and bandmates Adam Smith, left, and Alberto Alvarez perform for students at Sierra Vista High School on Friday. The three teens are members of the Vista High School Guitar Club, which did a special concert at Sierra Vista, a school for students with severe physical or emotional disabilities. Photo by Hayne Palmour IV, staff photographer. 
Sierra Vista High School student Daniella Rodriguez gets to try out the drums in between songs during the Vista High School Guitar Club's performance at Sierra Vista High School on Friday. Sierra Vista is a school for students with severe physical or emotional disabilities. Photo by Hayne Palmour IV, staff photographer. VISTA ---- Jesus Bernal probably never pictured himself a rock star, but on Friday, the Sierra Vista High School student hopped around the school's small stage with a guitar in his hand while a band of high school students banged out a song by Rage Against the Machine.
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For Bernal and about 80 other students at Sierra Vista, a school for the severely disabled, the concert was a rare opportunity to hear live music and interact with more typical students their age.
"These students tend to respond to music," Principal Chris Altona said. "It gets through. It's like the universal language."
The students, many of whom have severe physical or emotional disabilities, tapped their toes, danced around and played imaginary drums as a group of about 15 Vista High School students traded instruments to run through a heavy set of rock, punk and heavy metal covers.
Tina Boaz, a speech pathologist at both schools, came up with the idea to bring both sets of students together several years ago.
"It gives regular education students an opportunity to be around students with disabilities," she said, "and then it also give the students with severe handicaps a chance to be around age-appropriate peers."
Friday's show was performed by members of Vista High School's extracurricular guitar club, who are also in a couple of local bands.
This is the third year the club has played at the school, and they've gotten better and more ambitious each time, Altona said.
Vista High's football team and Polynesian club have also crossed the street to entertain the students. Altona said he's been very happy with the cooperation between the two schools, which are both off Bobier Drive in northern Vista.
Dennis Rood, a 22-year-old who attends Sierra Vista, said he got a kick out of meeting the musicians Friday and dancing around the school's small quad area.
"I like the guitars," he said exuberantly.
The experience was equally rewarding tor the Vista High students, senior Sal Leon said.
"It's great being able to share our musical talent with a different group of people," he said. "It makes them feel good; it makes us feel good."
It was also rewarding to share the music they love with a crowd of people who may have never heard some of the songs before, said Kyle Hyden, a junior in the club.
As the musicians switched instruments, another star emerged. Sierra Vista student Daniella Rodriguez grabbed the drum set and gave the small crowd an impromptu solo. After pounding the drums for a couple of minutes, she walked away from the stage with the approval of her classmates filling the air and a look of triumph in her eyes.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
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Parents Helping Parents wrote on May 9, 2008 9:28 PM:Very nice article and cute pictures, which leads me, ask this question:
According to last months VUSD Board Meeting the entire Board voted to cut over 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS from special education funding instead of cutting sports, water polo, athletic department and teacher cuts. Based on VUSD analysis and assertions VUSD is mainstreaming students out of special education. So, why this PR article? Does VUSD think they are going to change parent’s perspective? Will this PR article eradicate parent’s worries about their children receiving less or no MEANINGFUL SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES? The key word here is “MEANINGUL” babysitting and warehousing students is not meaningful or productive. Cutting special education services to give pretence and appearances is not a true and substitutive special educational service.
If special needs students could be mainstreamed out of special education services in my personal opinion those students were technically not ever disabled to begin with. Students with true disabilities don’t grow out or are miraculously cured from disabilities. People who think this way are very misinformed and callous about true student needs and student rights under 20 U.S.C.§ 1400, 1401, 1412, 1415, 20 USC Section 1417(e).
What I see is a lack of parental information and usurpations of parental rights; therefore as parents we are going to be offering FREE parent seminars to educate and inform other
parents about their procedural rights and student safeguards under the law. Budget cuts should never come at the cost of special education services for the disabled.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE SEMINARS CHECK YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS FOR THE UPCOMING TIMES, DATES AND LOCATIONS.
been there wrote on May 10, 2008 6:00 AM:Very nice article! These students and the educators who support them have made the world a better place. Kudos to all.
cant wait wrote on May 10, 2008 8:06 AM:Thank you so much to parent helping parent! I feel like I am alone out here.I will look forward to the seminars.
WVJ wrote on May 10, 2008 9:02 AM:!! Bravo !! bands and guitarists from VHS !!!
My son is 13 and has Down syndrome yet he enjoys music as much as anyone alive.
I hope you all have started a tradition that will still be alive when my son enters high school. He would dig all the tunes, especially The Ramones, since my wife plays them for him often (I'm a Rage man nmyself).
Thanks again for your courage and compassion, you may not know it but not just anyone has or will do what you've done.
Very tragic wrote on May 14, 2008 8:34 AM:I don’t believe the line that students are being mainstreamed out of special education because they are becoming so literate. Special education students experience and live with disabilities for life. The way VUSD warehouses these students is unconscionable and these students suffer the effects of this failure for life. What amazes me the most is how parents are so easily intimidated, deceived and have little confidence in their skills to advocate for their children.
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