High school students with learning disabilities take UCLA Extension classes through Generation NeXt

As sunlight streamed through the window into a cozy apartment, 12 students sat on couches and around a dining table.

Each was focused on the task before them ““ writing a reflection of the week before. Occasionally, they whispered to each other softly and laughed.

The apartment, located just off campus, is both a home and a classroom for the students of Generation NeXt.

Generation NeXt is a one-year transitional program that provides a college experience for students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, said Marissa Bhuva, program manager of Pathway at UCLA Extension. The federally funded program began as a 20-day pilot program in the summer of 2010.

After the success of the pilot, the program was adopted for its full duration for the first time this year, said Christine Suh, one of the administrators at Generation NeXt.

Generation NeXt, offered by UCLA Extension, also hosts a variety of classes ranging from academic success, time management, and social recreation courses.

Twice a week, students audit classes such as human sexuality and relationships and astronomy offered by UCLA Extension.

The program follows a structured schedule which lasts from morning until mid-evening, said Richard Burns, one of the special education teachers at the Los Angeles County Office of Education who works with the students.

Generation NeXt is held in collaboration with Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Southwest California Special Education Local Plan Area, Bhuva said. Students are referred to the program by charter schools and school districts from across Los Angeles, Suh said.

Martin Nava, one of the students, is taking a DJ class called “Mixing and Scratching”, which he said is one of his favorite classes. Through the class, Nava said he has enjoyed learning what kinds of music can be combined and what can’t.

“Michael Jackson and Snoop Dogg aren’t going to mix well,” he said with a laugh.

The students in the program are technically still high school students who are a few units short of their high school diplomas, Burns said.

“This is the first time (students) get to take college courses and experience college firsthand,” Burns said.

For many students, attending college has been something that many of the students have aspired to. After she put on her brother’s graduation gown at his ceremony, Caley Versfelt, a student with Down syndrome, said she realized she wanted to be just like him.

Eddie Garcia, another student in the program, said he has wanted to attend college and make his mother proud.

The program is also an eye-opener for many students as this may be the first time many lived away from home, Burns said.

“(Generation NeXt) has really clarified things for me,” said Nathan Moore, one of the students in the program. “It’s given me a different point of view on different people and different things.”

When the program began, some of the students had difficulties interacting with each other, Burns said.

With the help of classes on negotiation and problem-solving as part of independent living skills classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, students now tend to get along and feel a part of the UCLA community, Suh said.

“(Living in an apartment) is far away from my parents but (getting to learn to live by myself is) the best,” Garcia said.

Shail Versfelt, Caley Versfelt’s mother, said the program has helped her daughter learn skills such as cleaning, shopping for groceries, budgeting expenses ““ typical skills picked up by college students.

On Fridays, students participate in an internship at sites such as the Red Cross, the John Wooden Center and an eco-center at Santa Monica, which they get to via public transportation, Bhuva said.

“I think it’s great that they give us independence,” Moore said. “I think (this program) is the best thing I’ve ever done.”