Variety School puts its sole focus on students with disabilities

When the staff at Variety School met Brian Reyes three months ago, his new teachers had to clean blood from his hands and face.

The 7-year-old, who never attended school before, lives with nonverbal autism and used to repeatedly hit and scratch himself whenever he pulled his hands out of his pockets.

Now, Brian calmly but quickly can remove his right hand from his pocket and place it on a desk or move a toy into a basket without injuring himself.

He can even fist-bump special education teacher Jessica Lomassaro.

“We just try to get him used to routine,” Lomassaro said. “Brian’s parents have told us, ‘Thank God,’ and his mom can get a job now.

“Honestly, to get him to this point is an amazing success.”

Variety School, on Stewart Avenue between Eastern Avenue and Mojave Road, celebrates its third anniversary this month as the Clark County School District’s newest campus designed solely to serving students with low to high physical, intellectual or emotional disabilities.

Federal law requires public schools to place special-education students in the “least restrictive environment,” which for some children means a segregated classroom in a comprehensive school.

But Brian and about 160 other students require dedicated support from Variety teachers who first help them adjust to a smaller classroom setting before engaging them in academic content.

“Some parents struggle with the idea of pulling their children out of a comprehensive campus,” Variety Principal Jason Fico said.

“If it’s behavior that’s the problem, that may require intense intervention, and here they get that,” Fico said. “They also get a phenomenal education here, and we transfer many (students) back to a comprehensive campus.”

Annually, 6 percent to 10 percent of Variety students return to their home school. Other students stay for extended periods, including many who leave the campus once they reach 22 and can no longer attend.

Fico joined the state-of-the-art school as its vice principal when it opened in 2013.

As part of the 1998 voter-approved bond program, the district spent $18 million to build Variety School, which features vocational training centers for laundry, a kitchen and restaurant, a recycling center, a graphics center and greenhouse. Students spend time in each area, learning a skill of their choice, with a goal of preparing them for the workforce.

“This is the snack shack, where I hold down the fort,” 19-year-old Patrick Adams said in the school’s kitchen.

“I’m a pro at the (cash) register and enjoy serving food to customers,” he added. “I’m getting used to all this, although eventually I’m going to work to be a game developer.”

Adams declined to share details of a game he plans to design soon but described it as a “spiritual successor” to his favorite game: "Tetris."

As he excitedly reviewed the game, screams echoed through the neighboring hallway.

A girl had thrown herself on the ground, refusing to cooperate with a teacher, as another staff member pried a male student’s teeth from the arm of a co-worker.

“Kids come here in crisis,” Fico struggled to say over the girl’s screams. “But we can see tremendous gains.

“Once the behavior issues are under control, the veil is lifted and then the academics can start,” he said.

Variety School also offers a central training location for educators from across Clark County.

The district sent 150 teachers to the school last year, with campus administrators and support staff joining them for professional development courses on the best practices for special-needs education.

Fico's school also stands separate in the district thanks to its nearly nonexistent teacher shortage. Although the district started the school year with 24 percent of vacancies in special-education classrooms, Variety only had one opening and filled it within weeks.

"For a school with 100 percent special-education (students), that's impressive," Fico said.

"I look for candidates with tough skin, people who really want to be here," he added. "Some of our kids are prone to physical violence, (but) we see tremendous growth. We're not going to be perfect, but if you can handle those things, the rewards are great."

— Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.comor 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton.