This longitudinal study compared academic performance of Head Start and public school prekindergarten graduates at four educational transitions: (1) kindergarten; (2) first grade; (3) third grade; and (4) fourth and sixth grades. Participating in this study were students in an urban, minority school system providing both Head Start and…

This Digest summarizes what is known about the successful transition of children with disabilities from infant/toddler services to preschool education. The ideal transition process is defined and characteristics of an ideal process such as meeting individual needs and providing uninterrupted services are listed. Also noted are issues in the…

This book is intended to be a practical reference for accessing agencies that provide transition services for students with disabilities after they exit school and for including those agencies in the transition planning process while the student is still in public school. Emphasis throughout is on interagency collaboration and the various…

Two adaptations of Success for All, a comprehensive instructional reform program for elementary schools, have been used with students acquiring English as a second language. One is a Spanish bilingual version called "Exito para Todos," in which students are taught to read in Spanish and then transitioned to English reading, usually in…

This resource guide for individuals with developmental disabilities and their advocates looks at five ways to increase the freedom of choice for people with developmental disabilities, including assessing needs, planning for services, evaluating services, understanding the service system, and teaching self-advocacy. The first section includes a…

This booklet is intended to facilitate the full participation of Minnesota parents of children with disabilities in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The booklet begins with a brief discussion of what an IEP is, when IEPs must be in effect, IEP meetings, the IEP team, and parent participation. It next stresses the necessity of…

The Eckerd Wilderness Educational System provides emotionally disturbed children with alternative education in a year-round wilderness camp setting. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

A policy study (1992-94) investigated how three exemplary states have implemented transition services for youth with disabilities. Document evaluation and interviews (N=74) with key policymakers and implementors resulted in identifying seven themes that contributed to the successful initiation and continuation of transition policies, practices,…

Describes a continuing medical education program designed to provide physicians with the information and skills necessary for early intervention. The model provides competency-based training through an introductory seminar and a program of independent study in the areas of child-find, assessment, Individualized Family Service Plan development, and…

This study evaluated the effect of middle-to-high-school transition programs on educational progress (student performance and retention) in a nationally representative sample of public school students. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey indicated that transition programs targeting students, parents, and school staff together…

Despite claims that structured immersion programs for language minority students cannot work for low-income students, two immersion projects with low-income Hispanic and Asian children worked; their effects appeared to endure even after students entered the mainstream. (BJV)

Founded in 1968, the Transitional Year Program at Brandeis University (Massachusetts) continues to offer intensive remedial math and English for students who might not be admitted to college otherwise. The tuition-free program has been highly successful in turning mediocre high school performance into college achievement. Most participants are…

Guidelines are presented to assist medical, rehabilitative, and educational personnel in helping students with traumatic brain injury make the transition into a school setting. Included are a model for documentation of present level of performance and a guide for appropriate accommodations in public school programs to plan for school reentry. (SW)

Discusses the philosophy behind the effects of placing at-risk kindergarten children in transitional first grade classes and suggests alternative practices. (BB)

The implementation of a parent training session with 15 culturally diverse parents in Hawaii preceding a parent-professional conference on transition planning for high school students with disabilities resulted in increased knowledge about transition by participating parents but no significant differences in transition meeting participation…