Standing Proud on the Sidelines

He was never absent or tardy. He was always in his seat with pencil and notebook ready when the class bell rang. Not once in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades did he fall asleep during a dry history lecture or shoot a spit wad during a lull in math class.

As perfect as Armando Herman sounds, he won’t be stepping forward with the 650 others who have finished their four years at Garfield High School when diplomas are handed out tonight.

But as he watches from the sidelines, no one else at the East Los Angeles ceremony will be prouder of a graduate’s accomplishments.

Herman is a classroom aide who for five years assisted Victor Samayoa, an autistic student who is part of a vanguard of youngsters with disabilities being placed in conventional Los Angeles classrooms instead of being assigned to special education classes.

Samayoa, 20, was “mainstreamed” with regular Garfield High students. That meant he was required to take the same courses and the same tests as everyone else, despite his autism--a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty in communication and social interaction.

Symptoms of autism can range across a wide spectrum, from the complete lack of speech or acknowledgment of other people in severe cases to social awkwardness or extreme shyness among higher-functioning individuals such as Samayoa.

Herman, 35, of Boyle Heights was hired by the Los Angeles Unified School District to help make certain Samayoa wasn’t overwhelmed by the curriculum and crowds at the 4,500-student Garfield campus.

Together Since 1996

The pair began working together in 1996. And the job was an eye-opener for the youthful-looking Herman--who had graduated from rival Roosevelt High School 10 years earlier.

Herman had been a typical high school student, passing through Roosevelt with little effort or direction. He was accepted at Cal State Los Angeles but never enrolled because of a mix-up with a financial grant.

He took a vocational class instead and worked as a nurse for 3 1/2 years at County-USC Medical Center before becoming a warehouse supervisor in South Pasadena. When a back injury ended that job, Herman returned to vocational school.

There, he enrolled in the first open class he found: a 500-hour program on how to become a special-education aide. Herman was hired at Garfield immediately after finishing the training.

Returning to high school was a jolt, he said. “The biggest shock was the attire and attitude of kids. Their dress is more revealing. And some of their comments are more arrogant now than they were when I was in school.”

The curriculum seemed more intense too.

Herman’s job was to help Samayoa fit in academically as well as socially at Garfield. So he found himself explaining classroom assignments and tutoring the young man in subjects he had long ago put out of his mind--or in some cases never learned the first time around.

“Algebra was difficult. It seemed like I was from another planet talking about something I couldn’t even relate to when I was in high school,” Herman said. “I was learning along with Victor.”

Herman’s biggest lesson was about himself.

“I discovered that I hadn’t put 110% into learning when I was in high school. I was about at 80%. I found out here I could have done a whole lot more myself in high school. I could have accomplished a lot more than I did--I could have pursued more.”

Los Angeles school officials say mainstreaming has the potential to help children with disabilities accomplish more in the classroom, too. Campuses throughout the school system will be required by December to write a “least-restrictive environment plan” to help guide them, according to Gloria Lopez, director of instructional initiatives for the school district’s Division of Special Education.

“We absolutely want more children to follow this young man’s footsteps,” Lopez said of Samayoa. “We want them to start earlier, so that by the time they reach high school they have had built-in support all along their academic career.”

In Samayoa’s case, his autism had left him withdrawn and socially inept by the time he was ready to enter high school. That forced Herman to work outside the classroom to teach the boy how to relate to other teenagers and participate in classroom discussions.

Herman also had to teach the Garfield student body a lesson.

“At first kids mocked Victor a lot. There was a lot of teasing: ‘He’s retarded. He’s dumb. Look at the geek.’ I intervened a lot at first. I was his shadow, basically.

“Anytime someone caused conflict, I would jump in and say, ‘OK, this is Victor. You’re going to show a lot more respect to this person.’ At first they thought I was his bodyguard or something.”

Victor was soon accepted. And even protected by other Garfield teenagers.

“Kids were accepting him for who he is, and not as a person with a disability. As time went on, the older kids would teach the newer ones that this person has been here a while and is OK.”

On a few occasions when Samayoa’s autism got the best of him in class, Herman stepped in quickly and quietly.

Some Difficult Moments

“Once he threw an eraser in my face and the other kids were shocked. They thought there was going to be an altercation. There wasn’t. I had him step out of class and we settled it.... He apologized and it never happened again.”

Herman accompanied Victor to football games and school dances. “He had a wonderful time. And I had a wonderful time knowing he was having fun,” Herman said.

Garfield students and teachers say both Samayoa and Herman fit in seamlessly at the campus.

Onofre di Stefano, the school’s assistant principal, said one other autistic student is being mainstreamed at Garfield. Six other pupils have aides assigned to help them in class.

“This is a safe place, in many ways an ideal setting for Victor,” Di Stefano said. “He could grow realizing no one was going to pick on him. I’m very proud of him--he’s grown intellectually and socially.”

English teacher Jim Roybal said Samayoa earned the diploma that Principal Norma Danyo will hand him tonight.

There was no coaching when Samayoa took and passed the four mandatory proficiency tests required for high school graduation, Roybal said. Instead, he, Herman and others focused two years on boosting Samayoa’s comprehension skills. “He had been very mechanistic in his understanding about things” when he first arrived at Garfield, Roybal said.

Samayoa Is Well-Liked

Classmate Elsa Garza, 17, said Samayoa is a popular member of the senior class. “Victor’s really nice. He comes to our dances and isn’t shy like other guys. He’s like the rest of us--he can’t wait for graduation,” said Garza, who is Garfield’s student body activities coordinator. “He told me this morning his mom’s coming today to pick up his cap and gown.”

Rayalda Samayoa of East Los Angeles arrived at noon and helped her son claim the garments he will so proudly wear as the class of 2002 marches together for the last time.

“I have a lot of friends here,” Victor Samayoa said. “Armando is one of them. He helped me pay attention and follow along in class. When I’d daydream he’d tap me on the shoulder. He makes me think. He’s a good guy. I’m going to miss him.”

Herman has volunteered to temporarily help Samayoa this fall, when Samayoa plans to enroll at East Los Angeles College. “I’d tutor him and help him get situated until somebody else takes over. He’ll be able to function in college because of the way a lot of teachers at Garfield opened doors for him,” Herman said.

The classes at Garfield High motivated Herman too.

“I’m going to college myself,” he said. “I’m starting with community college courses too. I’m a lot more prepared now.”