Secondary transition is the process of preparing students for adult life after they leave high school. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, transition planning begins at the age of 14 or younger, as determined appropriate by the IEP Team. In Mars Area School District, transition begins in seventh grade, no matter the student’s age. The planning process helps students consider their goals for the time after graduation through career awareness exploration activities. The transition continues through high school as academic instruction and community experiences help clarify and support students’ goals. The process is based on the student’s needs, considering their strengths, preferences, and interests. Transition is a bridge between school programs and the opportunities for adult life. These opportunities often include post-secondary education or training, employment, independent living, and community participation.

Secondary transition is a process that: 

• Uses assessment to identify a student’s post-secondary goals
• Describes the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance
• Establishes transition team partnerships
• Designs a transition plan that includes courses of study, services, and activities
• Determines measurable annual goals that address skill deficits and lead to post-secondary goals
• Monitors progress and adjust instruction based on data

Research shows that:

• School administrator support and solid communication among the student’s team members (including educators, family members, the student, and perhaps community agency personnel) lead to effective transition planning.
• Students are more actively involved in transition-related activities when their school provides them with frequent opportunities to plan, express, and actively pursue their goals and changes to evaluate progress and adjust their actions accordingly.
• Student, family, and school factors influence student involvement in transition-related activities.
• Students with disabilities are more actively involved in their transition-related activities when receiving special education services in the general education classes.
• Students are more likely to become employed after completing school if they had work experience during high school.

What Families Can Do to Support Their Child:

1. Find out everything you can about transition services in your school district. Know your rights and responsibilities and keep abreast of laws, regulations and policies regarding transition and adult services. Learn about community agencies that provide services to support students, including counseling, job coaching, and job training. Check the Procedural Safeguards Notice for other organizations’ names and phone numbers.
2. After graduation, available supports will probably be different from those your child experienced during high school.  This is because your child was “entitled” to certain services while in school, and they must become “eligible” for services after school.  Learn the difference between the two and what you need to do by talking to those organizations.
3. Offer information and assistance to your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team when determining your child’s strengths and needs.  Parents are critical members of this team ….  no one knows your child as well as you do.  Remember that you have the right to invite others to IEP meetings with special knowledge about the child.  Help the IEP team to develop annual goals leading toward desired post-school outcomes.
4. Please talk with your child about the future and what they want it to be.  Please help your child identify their strengths.  Information about your child’s interests and abilities is important.  Ensure your child’s IEP team has this information when the IEP is developed.  Your child needs to have opportunities to plan for themself, even if it means they sometimes choose incorrectly.  Your child will be making many choices after graduation and needs practice in weighing options available to them socially and educationally.
5. Help your child learn job-related skills, such as punctuality, dressing appropriately, and being interested in doing a good job.
6. Teach your child social skills, such as how to accept constructive criticism, how to be courteous, and how to respond appropriately to authority.
7. Create occasions for your child to be socially active in your community, provide opportunities to make purchases, use public transportation, and do their banking.
8. Please help your child learn about their disability and how to ask for the support needed.  Provide opportunities for your child to express their desires, learn their strengths and advocate for their needs.  These skills are important in both employment and post-secondary education settings.
9. Maintain copies of all school records and medical information.  Keep lists of contacts you make with other agencies such as the Center for Community Resources and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.