Next Stop Life: North East Transition Services (NETS)

Next Stop Life: • North East Transition Services (NETS) • North East Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas 3736 Perrin-Central, Bldg. 1 San Antonio, TX 78217 210.637.4950 Director/Principal: Nancy Neugebauer, EdD nneuge@neisd.net

North East Transition Services Age-Appropriate Learning Environments for Adults 18 Through 21

Leaving High School • All students have questions • What will I do? • What kind of job would be a good one for me? • Is college in my future? • Where will I live? • How will I get to work or school?

NETS: North East Transition Services It is a Service and Not a School

North East Transition Services (NETS): Mission • Work with students and parents to develop and support • Employment • Postsecondary Education • Independent Living • Transportation • Socialization • Accessing Community Services

Vocational Volunteer Work Work-based Learning Paid Employment Community Adult Services Community Facilities and Resources Transportation Postsecondary Education Continuing Ed/Certificates Training Independent Living Skills Adult Life Connections

What NETS can do: • Train on using public transportation • Assist in scheduling student activities • Assist in accessing adult services • Monitor job sites and job coach • Collaborate with employers • Assist with career development • Teach skills for community inclusion • Facilitate access to colleges • Assist with job training opportunities

Developing Community-Based Services Age-appropriate Learning Environments for Students 18 Through 21

Concerns 20 year olds on high school campus with 14 year olds Sudden change from bell schedule to non-structured adult life Transition services looked too traditional Solutions Find age appropriate environments Design the school day to look like a day in the life of an adult Design a non-traditional instructional day which meant non-traditional services NETS: The Idea

NETS • Location of instruction • Age-appropriate instructional environments • Work environments • Learning environments • Public transportation • Community sites: restaurants, stores, etc.

NETS • The NETS Building (school) • Houses staff and records • Students go only for: • Assessment • Planning meeting with staff • Central meeting location to meet with case managers LOOKS MORE LIKE AN EMPLOYMENT OFFICE THAN A SCHOOL LOCATION!

NETS • Staffing and Scheduling • Teachers and job coaches • The role of employers/co-workers • What about nights and weekends? • Flex time • Rotating weekends • The schedule board

TrainingMust be: • On-going • Broad and specific • Related to facilitating postsecondary goals • Involve community services and networking • Collaborative

Making it Work Tools and Strategies for Non-Traditional Learning Environments for Students 18 Through 21

Transition Assessment • Don’t Reinvent the Wheel • Data from the high school years • ESTR (Enderle-Sevenson Transition Rating) • Student/parent surveys • Interest inventories • Data collection in the community • Employment • Transportation

Outcomes for Graduating Class of 2007 Employment Home Living Rec/Leisure Community Post-Sec Ed Total

The Transportation Connection • Enrolling in public transportation • Who pays for the bus? • Transportation training • The parent/family role • Increasing independence • Ensuring safety

Employment • Work-based learning in high school • Vocational assessment • Making a good job match • Job training • Supported employment • The role of the parent/family

Volunteer Work • The role of volunteer work in adult life and transition services • Opportunity to help the community • Caution: this does not replace employment training or paid employment

Agency Partnerships • Alamo Area Council of Government (AACOG) • Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) • Department of Labor/Texas Workforce • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) • Other – including private organizations

Family Issues • The obvious: SSI and employment • When the family wants day habilitation services and not employment • Information and training for parents • Family to family networking • The final decision for life after public school belongs to the family.

Person-Centered Planning • Why • Teach parents a problem-solving process • Provide solutions to unanswered questions • Develop a system of support for the family • When • There are concerns that need a non-traditional strategy • The family has few supports or needs input from someone other than the school staff • How • Personalized location: home, church, etc. • Planning membership • Only 1 or 2 school staff present ** Personalizing the PCP Process

Ensuring Effectiveness • Transition Planning Matrix • Is the student ready? • Have we addressed all of the areas of transition? • Do we have paid and natural supports in place? • Will the day after graduation bring life to a halt...OR...have we provided effective transition services?

Transition Planning Matrix Stetson and Associates, Inc.; Houston, Texas

Transition Planning Matrix Used to identify services completed and service gaps Can evaluate gaps for each student Can identify systems problems Transition Monitoring Chart Identify the status within each transition service Develop steps needed to improve the transition service to ensure meaningful connections to postsecondary goals Monitoring Progress

Transition Services Monitoring Chart Stetson and Associates, Inc.; Houston, Texas

Lessons Learned

The Things We Would Keep: • Flexible staffing, hours • Consultative services from transition specialists • Off school campus • Age appropriate environment • Community based environment

Flexibility is Key! • Every year is different. • Every student is different. • Federal and state laws change. • Funding and resources change. • Technology and research improves services. • Stay informed and be flexible.

Contact Information North East Transition Services 3736 Perrin-Central, Bldg. 1 San Antonio, TX 78217 210.637.4950 Director/Principal:Nancy Neugebauer, EdD nneuge@neisd.net

Next Stop Life: North East Transition Services (NETS)