Villa Esperanza

School

Villa Esperanza School provides a multidisciplinary educational program serving students from 5-22 years old with high support needs associated with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Please contact us to learn more about our school.

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A young woman teenage student with black hair smiling while wearing a gray hoodie and black apron in a commercial kitchen.

A young boy elementary school student in a black jacket riding a red adaptive bicycle with a seat back at a colorful playground.

An instructional aide and a high school student sitting at a desk in a classroom. Theaide is pointing to a book and explaining something to the student, who is looking at the book attentively.

A male teenage student stands in a classroom, smiling, with a whiteboard behind him displaying a presentation on kindness challenges, and shelves with books and school supplies nearby.

Villa school children playing on a colorful playground with a slide, climbing wall, and shade canopy, next to a modern building under a partly cloudy sky.

A high school student and an adult man instructional aide shake hands outdoors on the playground. The boy has a buzz cut and wears a green T-shirt and black pants. The man wears sunglasses, a black hoodie with a graphic design.

A young boy elementary student with black hair and a black hoodie stacking colorful foam blocks on a wooden table.

A male high school teacher is pointing at a whiteboard with a panda illustration during a classroom lesson, with two students wearing headphones sitting at desks in the foreground.

Teenage high school student wearing a blue baseball cap, black jacket, and white pants sitting awkwardly on a chair at a table, grimacing with eyes closed in a room with a gray wall and a trash bin in the background.

A teenage boy with curly hair smiling, standing outside a yellow school bus, holding a smartphone, wearing a black T-shirt, navy sweatpants, and a backpack.

An elementary with dreadlocks wearing a black leopard print jacket and blue jeans stands in front of a whiteboard, pointing at it with a marker inside an elementary classroom.

A female instructional aide pointing at a book, sitting next to a teenage male student in a blue shirt, both reading at the book on a classroom desk.

Villa Believes In

At Villa, we recognize that every child has unique abilities and challenges.
We utilize positive behavior support to maximize each child’s educational experience.
Villa creates a safe and compassionate space for colleagues, family members, and caregivers.
Our year-round training incorporates current educational and behavioral practices.
Our approach to education addresses students’ social, emotional, and intellectual needs. In addition to direct instruction, we provide:
- Speech & Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Behavior Intervention

Classroom Strategies

- Community-based instruction
- Nonviolent Crisis Intervention
- DIR-Floortime Therapy
- Naturalistic Teaching Strategies
- Positive Behavior Supports
- Sensory Integration
- SEACO – Curriculum Guide
- C.D.E. Core & Foundation Curriculum Content
- Vocational Training
- Visual supports, including social stories
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Graphic Organizers

Villa School Calendar FY25-26

An instructional aide wearing glasses and a red plaid shirt serving food onto a plate in the cafeteria, with labeled trays of food including baked pasta and mixed vegetables.

More Information

All classrooms maintain a minimum of a 1 to 3 staff to child ratio.
One-on-one assistance is provided based per the Individual Education Plan and the IEP team.
Includes: Assessment and eligibility for special education services, age, strengths, present levels of performance, and behavioral challenges.
As a non-public school (NPS), Villa contracts with school districts and regional centers.
Private pay options are also available.

“I believe that the positive energy from our staff resonates profoundly with the students.”

— Ms. Santos, High School Teacher

A boy with a big smile looking out of a tire tunnel.

Our elementary school students receive instruction in the areas of pre-academic and academic skills, communication with focus on receptive and expressive language, gross and fine motor abilities, social and emotional skill development, and self-regulation and transition skills.
Our classes provide a highly structured and specialized setting for children with intensive language, social, and behavioral support needs. At Villa, children learn to express their needs and wants verbally or by way of Sign Language as well as through Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems including iPads with Touch Chat and Proloquo applications. Teachers communicate classroom structure and expectations using diverse approaches that provide choices: morning meetings, picture schedules, timers to support transitions, and other teacher-directed communication methodologies.
Our language-based program focuses on social play, academics, independent and group work. Students receive individualized instruction to advance their knowledge and abilities in reading, writing, math skills and creative expression through the arts.

Young boy with short hair wearing a green Nike t-shirt, standing outdoors with his hands clasped and is standing in the playground area.

Our middle school students are instructed in communication, daily living and functional academic skills necessary to enhance independence.
Intermediate Academic Level serves students whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) reflects an academically-oriented program in addition to the development of life skills. The curriculum emphasizes language and math skills and critical thinking. Emphasis is on developing the functional and cognitive abilities needed to increase students’ independence and participation, maximizing opportunities to employ the concepts they learn in school at home and in the community.

Intermediate Life Skills serves children whose IEP specifies a focus on life skills. Academic skills will be addressed on an individual basis as specified in each child’s IEP, providing a highly structured and specialized setting for children with intensive language, social and behavioral support needs consistent with autism and other developmental disabilities.

A woman instructional aide wearing a light-colored hoodie using a touchscreen point-of-sale device at a campus barista cart, with a young girl wearing headphones and holding a pink tablet, outdoors on the playground.

The High School program provides a structured environment focusing on social skills, behavior management, communication, functional academic skills and employment skills. Classes allow students to maximize their potential for independence, empowering them to transition into the community with a sense of accomplishment, ability and integrity.
Activities include community walks and outings to local stores and restaurants, operating our Student Store, lunchtime food service, jobs in our campus library and snack cart, and independent-living skills like meal preparation and laundry. These opportunities provide specific vocational skills, increase daily living skills, and apply functional academic skills.
Priority skill areas are identified through the Individual Transition Plan, Individual Education Program, assessment, and interest surveys. These areas are then addressed in the classroom through in-class, on-site, and community instruction and activities.
As a part of a meaningful adult life, recreation is also taught and practiced. Activities include sports and clubs, libraries, community centers and parks, and on-site social gatherings.

Life Skills High School Program serves teens and young adults ages 15 – 22 whose Individual Education Plan (IEP) reflects a life skills and pre-vocational driven curriculum. The classroom emphasis is placed on developing necessary functional academic, pre-vocational, social, behavioral, and community skills to transition into adult life.

Transition High School Program serves teens and young adults ages 15 – 22 whose IEP reflects a functional academic, vocational, and life skills driven curriculum. The classroom emphasis is placed on developing necessary functional academic, vocational, social, behavioral, and community skills to gain employment and transition into adult life.
Students will also work with Villa’s new Student Services program to increase their opportunities to prepare for and access employment.
Vocational High School Program serves teens and young adults ages 15 – 22 whose IEP reflects an academically and vocationally driven curriculum. The classroom emphasis is placed on developing necessary academic, vocational, social, behavioral, and community skills to gain employment and transition into adult life.
Through Villa’s Student Services program, students can access counseling to build on their interests and skills, in addition to workforce preparation, job training, and sponsored paid work experience or volunteering.

A woman with short gray hair; she is smiling and wearing a black blazer over a black top, standing against a white background.

Meet Your Principal

“Children thrive in classrooms and communities where they experience acceptance, connection, and respect,” says Robyn Reagan. A lifelong advocate for children who struggle to make their gifts and needs known, her first role model was Annie Sullivan, teacher and friend to Helen Keller. “In my work and training,” states Robyn, “the ABCs stand for All Behavior Communicates. I love seeing the gleam in a student's eyes when they succeed at something they couldn't do before.”

Robyn has been improving systems and supports for children, youth and families for over 25 years. With experience in Special Education ranging from K-12 and from public school campuses to residential settings, she has provided leadership and professional development for educators, administrators, and parents. Robyn’s impact is widespread. She still hears from a parent whose child was considered too low-functioning for an augmented and alternative communication device (AAC). Robyn and the mother included flashcards of letters and numbers after his behavior trials, and he was recently published in a national poetry contest for high school students. She is fully committed to challenging perceived limitations of people and systems and finding creative ways to move forward.

One of Robyn’s mother's favorite poems was "Hope is the thing with feathers," by Emily Dickinson. Robyn shares, “That Esperanza means hope and our logo is two birds makes my work here a tribute to the resilience and values she passed down to me.”