MISSION VIEJO : Graduation Marks a Special Milestone

While Shannon Tierney has a remarkable knack for remembering the date of everyone’s birthday at her school, the date of her own graduation is one she will also remember for a long time.

Tierney and five other classmates--Brent Adams, Alicia Moses, Kathleen Smith, Michael Stuetz and Mark Swearingen--graduated last week from the year-round Esperanza Special Education School in Mission Viejo.

Graduation is a major step toward gaining more independence and self-reliance for the developmentally disabled students at Esperanza, who attend the school’s high school program until they are 22.

“We had a real good time,” said Tierney, before having to catch a bus Monday to work at a Taco Bell. “I felt pretty happy.”

As fellow graduate Swearingen put it: “It’s a special thing to do. I was waiting a long time to do it. We finally made it.”

The six graduates have jobs lined up, from positions as fast food servers to office clerks and assembly-line workers, despite the recession.

“It’s so exciting for all of us,” Principal Ruby Edman said. “It means so much to the graduates. . . . It’s a major step for them.”

Job skills and training is a major emphasis from the time the students start the school’s intermediate and high school programs at age 13. Students gain experience and skills through classes, a commercial-styled kitchen on campus and unpaid internships with local businesses.

Students able to work independently can become clients in the school’s Supported Employment Program, which provides job placement, coaching and other support once they graduate. Those who need more supervision can find work in a sheltered, workshop setting provided by private, nonprofit agencies, such as Saddleback Community Enterprises and Goodwill.

The six graduates also will take adult education classes at the school to help maintain their skills.

Tierney and Stuetz are taking jobs through the Esperanza Supported Employment Program, while the other four will join Saddleback Community Enterprises, Edman said.

Tierney, for example, has been an employee of Taco Bell since October and expects to continue her work at a Taco Bell closer to her home in Laguna Niguel.

Stuetz has had equal success. He and other classmates have had job training at First Team Real Estate and Ross department stores. He has been working at Carl’s Jr. in Laguna Hills this school year, and he is seeking a more permanent position with the restaurant chain.

The school has built long-term partnerships with local businesses that benefit everyone, said jobs coordinator Ronni Hughes. Graduates have a chance to support themselves and live independently, while employers gain well-trained, motivated employees, she added.

“This is their career,” she said. “They’re very honest, dependable employees.”

About 260 students attend Esperanza, which also includes infant, elementary and adult education.

Part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, the school also serves students from the Irvine, Laguna Beach and Capistrano unified school districts.