Parental involvement and parent-school-community partnerships receive wide acclaim for making a positive difference in the educational and transition outcomes for youth with and without disabilities. Although the impact of parental involvement in education remains undisputed, secondary education traditionally emphasizes the emerging adult…

Establishing effective transition programs for students entering high school is an ongoing process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore best practices transition programs employ to aid student's success. The participants in this study were six administrators chosen from a population of administrators at 60 central Indiana high…

Nine model transition programs for students with learning disabilities were reviewed. Seven exemplary program components emerged: individualized planning and coordination; vocational preparation; academic remediation and support; academic, vocational, and social-personal counseling; support systems and services; job seeking and placement; and…

Vocational education programs should promote independence to counteract the dependency typically fostered in correctional institutions. In addition, vocational programs must include a transition component, which stresses critical job retention skills. The development of a successful vocational program depends upon the skills and cooperation of a…

The article examines communication training for handicapped students making the transition from school to adult life in terms of the need for communication training, principles of assessment, and the communication specialist as consultant. (DB)

ASPIRE--"Assisting Special Populations in Readiness for Employment"--is a secondary special education transition program featuring coordinated services between the public and private sectors to integrate secondary level disabled students into subsidized private sector employment. ASPIRE was introduced into the Lake Tahoe Unified School…

The report describes the Swedish educational and employment system and efforts underway to facilitate the transition from school to work for handicapped adolescents. A review of the general education system touches upon administrative structure, finance, and trends in compulsory comprehensive school and in upper secondary schools. The next section…

A program developed at Hunter College of the City University of New York is designed to help handicapped students make a successful transition from school to work. The program provides students with unsubsidized short-term employment in the business sector and allows them to develop appropriate work habits and skills. Six program components are…

These materials present information on implementing a collaborative team model in the delivery of transition services to students with disabilities. The materials provide charts and forms outlining strategies to be used by a local interagency transition team to assess its existing level of collaboration, to conceptualize its jointly endorsed…

This paper provides a definition of assessment that is tailored to the unique considerations of the concept and practice of the transition of students with disabilities from school to adult life. Assessment in transition is considered to be the on-going process of obtaining and properly using both person and environment-based assessment…

The guide, developed by the Secondary Transition and Employment Project (STEP) in Idaho, is for junior and senior high teachers of disabled students and provides strategies to aid in the transition of students from school to the community. Section I of the manual contains short-term transition strategies, for use with students graduating within a…

This guide presents a process for school-to-community transition planning for students with disabilities, based on individual need. In order for the school to support transition planning, it must put in place a school-based transition system, with the following essential components: local education agency administrative and program…

The paper describes Stepping Stones Growth Center, which prepared handicapped students for transition into competitive employment. The origins of the program and its emphasis on functional skill training are reviewed, followed by a description of three levels of services: a "ready" class stressing basic skills, a "set" class emphasizing…

Project WorkAbility is a California program serving special education secondary and postsecondary students. The model design for WorkAbility is based on well-known transition models and contains components common to those models. The design views transition as both a process and a product, supports interagency cooperation and collaboration, and…

This report and associated materials describe a project to develop and deliver a self-directed transition planning curriculum for high school students with and without disabilities. The NEXT S.T.E.P. (Student Transition & Educational Planning) curriculum was field tested with 300 teachers and 5,000 students in several states. Activities and…