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Working for a smooth transition
Grant funds help students with disabilities prepare for life after high school
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| Mohonasen juniors Emily Bohl and Kristen Gavigan, and senior Linda Reger learn about college life from teacher Martha Mallon in their class, "So, You Want to Go to College?" The class has been made possible due to a Model Transition Program (MTP) grant. |
March 2, 2009
Mohonasen juniors Emily Bohl and Kristen Gavigan, and senior Linda Reger are planning for their future. When they look ahead, they see college campuses, dorm rooms and lecture halls. Kristen is thinking about studying art, while Emily and Linda are considering majoring in child care.
To help them prepare for life after high school, these students are taking part in a new course at Mohonasen called “So, You Want to Go to College?” which is designed to help students with disabilities make a smoother transition to college.
This program is just one of many new or expanded transition services offered by Mohonasen, which has teamed up with Niskayuna and Guilderland through a Model Transition Program (MTP) grant. The grant – one of 60 awarded statewide – is intended to help students with disabilities move more smoothly from school to post-school living, learning and earning roles in their communities.
“By working together, all three districts are able to reach out to more students and their families and provide services tailored to their individual needs,” Carol Wall, training coordinator and grant administrator, said.
Through its many facets, the MTP program is currently touching the lives of more than 700 students in the three districts.
Off to college
The curriculum for the “So, You Want to Go to College?” course was developed by special education teachers and guidance counselors at the three districts, with the help of the BOCES Transition Coordinator Laura Thomson.
“Most of our students have the academic skills they need for college, so we focus on other skills— things like doing laundry, interacting with other students and adults, self-advocacy,” Wall said. “A primary goal of the class is student independence. In college, students need to be responsible for all facets of their lives, which is something that wasn’t necessary as a high school student.”
In their class, Kristen, Emily and Linda say they have been learning about everything from standardized exams like the SATs and ACTs, to how to handle a conflict with your roommate, drugs and alcohol, study tips and more.
“It helps us know what to expect of college life,” Kristen said.
The girls have also talked about being independent on campus and doing things like laundry, cooking, cleaning, and managing money and time. Every time they meet with their teachers they discuss different topics, and by the end of the course they will have a notebook full of tips and resources that they can bring to college with them.
The course is a two-year program for high school juniors and seniors, and those who take part in it receive a quarter credit a year. Students are also able to job shadow individuals in careers that might interest them.
“In this program, students are able to really explore their strengths and they start looking at college as a means to get where they want to go,” Wall said. “What we are offering are valuable, real experiences for these students.”
Additionally, all college-bound students with disabilities in the three districts have the opportunity to attend college tours, as well as a “Recipe for Success” conference at SUNY Albany, beginning in grade 10. To date, 140 students in the three districts have taken part in this aspect of the program.
Off to work
Another way the MTP funding is being used is to either enhance—or in Guilderland’s case, get off the ground—their school-to-work programs. These programs help students hone in on specific interests and skills to help them decide what jobs they might be interested in. They also assist students in developing soft skills such as work ethic, social and communications skills, as well as self-advocacy skills.
The districts are also working with VESID – the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities, which helps adults with disabilities get, and maintain, employment – to help students get jobs after high school. Through the MPT grant, the three districts have someone on staff who refers students directly to VESID, making the transition from school to work seamless for many students.
“We still have a lot of students with learning disabilities who haven’t been able to discover their strengths and that need is more than we expected,” Wall said. “Our goal is to help our students find their strengths – what they are good at and what they are interested in.”
Parent involvement
The grant is also being used is to increase parent involvement, which, Wall said, has been a goal of all three districts. One way this is being done is through a series of workshops, which are facilitated by trainers from the University of Buffalo.
“They work with people across the state, so their resources and insights are greater than that of one district, or even three districts, operating on its own,” Wall said of the University of Buffalo trainers. “Plus, all of the materials we are obtaining through these workshops will be available in our districts for future use. This will allow us to continue these workshops after the grant has run its course.”
Topics for these workshops range from legal issues to effective communication and workplace skills.
“On both a federal and state level,
transition has become a real focus,” Wall said. “We don’t want to
graduate kids who aren’t ready to face the world.”
Parents have also been actively involved in the MTP advisory board
and have offered invaluable feedback and guidance to the MTP team.
Additional services offered through the grant include: diagnostic vocational assessments for students needing comprehensive vocational testing to help determine viable career options; job shadowing; a college information night; referral assistance for accommodations at colleges; tours of local day habilitation programs; and assistance in referrals to local adult agencies for students with developmental disabilities and their families.
The districts are now in year two of what is a three-year grant, however, funding for next year is currently up in the air because of budget concerns at the state level. But no matter what happens, Wall said, the program has been wildly successful and she is confident that districts will carry on pieces and parts of it in some way.
