High School Tour Set for Disabled Students

Jitters are almost universal for students on their first day of high school. That nervousness can be compounded if the student has a vision, hearing or learning disability.

Pamela Gonzales and Vangie De La Riva have seen firsthand how difficult that first day can be. Both are parents of Santa Ana Unified School District students with disabilities.

Their children’s struggles inspired the two women to organize an orientation session, set for Monday, for disabled students about to enter Century High School.

“This is to give them a taste for the campus and make them feel more comfortable,” said De La Riva who, along with Gonzales, is a member of the school district’s Community Advisory Committee, made up of parents of special education students.

The school district sponsors tours for disabled students at five intermediate schools, but this is the first for a high school, said Lucinda Hundley, director of special education.

During Monday’s 90-minute orientation, two dozen disabled students are expected to meet with two special education teachers from Century High, then take a tour led by Joseph Camarillo and Salina Gonzales, Century High School students and the children of the organizers.

The orientation, which parents also may attend, will include a pizza lunch in the school’s quad, donated by a local restaurant.

Information: (714) 834-9167.