Students gather for dance

By Frances Vanderploeg

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 | midnight

A black-and-white checkered floor suitable for wheelchairs bedecked Foothill High School's gym Sept. 26, and white tablecloths with records decorating them set the theme for the first Southeast Region special programs get together of the year.

Special programs at the region's seven high schools — Basic, Boulder City, Coronado, Foothill, Green Valley, Liberty and Silverado — each host an event throughout the year to get the students together for a day of fun.

"It's to promote as much normalcy as possible," Pam Charles, Foothill teacher, said. "Our kids enjoy seeing each other. They like going to dances, and they want to be social."

Most of the students could be found on the dance floor at some point during the night, dancing with their friends or dancing by themselves.

"She's a dancing machine!" Silverado student Lizzie Suarez said about her friend, Amanda Morang, both 16.

Several of the teachers take their students on outings regularly, usually to learn how to fill out job applications, proper hygiene or grocery shopping.

Coronado student Keyla Torres Rodriguez, 18, said students at Coronado get to do a lot of activities, such as visiting with students at John C. Bass Elementary School to read books, help in the cafeteria or cut paper.

"We go to Kmart to shop for things like soap and paper towels," she said.

Charles said the events have been happening for years and are now held about every six weeks.

Teachers from each school said they try to bring the students to every event. The only exception for some is when the students are working, because they don't want to interrupt the work habit the students are learning.

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].