Becca Wells

Sped 856
Running Project

Part One:

I currently am employed by a Community Support Provider (CSP) in Aberdeen, South

Dakota. We provide services to people with developmental disabilities from ages 16 and up. I

work very closely with our local school district and surrounding districts to help assist them in

having smooth and seamless transitions to adult services depending upon the students needs. I

help to provide education to parents, students and the schools about what is available for adult

services and what we can do to help in the transition process. We are the third largest city in

South Dakota a population of 27,333 people according to the 2013 census. Even with the size of

our city we are still a rural area, we are surrounded by numerous small towns and farms. We are

currently providing supports to 160 individuals with developmental disabilities and are

considered to be a Vocational Training School; so, every person that we provide supports to

qualifies and receives Free and Reduced Meals through our National School Lunch program.

Most of those we provide supports to are Caucasian (94.4%), the remaining of those we support

are Native American (5.6 %.) Of those we support, we have a wide range of disabilities some

very mild with borderline intellectual functioning, where they only need minimal assistance with

finances, to those that have more severe disabilities and need 24-hour support with every aspect

of their lives. My role here is that of the Education Coordinator and Quality Assurance

Coordinator, I teach classes to those we provide support, for things they would like to learn

about. From financial management skills, computer skills, life skills or even social skills; it all

depends on what they would like to learn more about. I am also the person that attends the IEPs

in the local district and surrounding districts as our CSP covers our county and the 4 surrounding
counties. I assist the local school districts in transition skills and education depending on the

students need. If the school knows that our services will be needed I am typically contacted

early, by the time the student is 16 at the latest, this helps me to build a relationship with the

student to understand their needs, this also helps me to provide the best support possible in

assisting to make their transition as seamless as possible. I also am the Quality Assurance

Coordinator to those students that start transitioning over to adult services while still receiving

support from the school district, this means I make sure that staff at the CSP are following the

IEP and provide the education and training required and needed to help the student be successful.

I also oversee their supports, funding, paperwork, and medical to make sure that we are

compliance with the Administrative Rules of South Dakota for both a school and a CSP.

The survey we were asked to complete was called the QI survey from

www.transitioncoalition.org. I found this survey a little difficult to complete being that I am not

directly with a district but I do work closely so I answered this based upon my knowledge of

what I complete and what I know is completed before the students receives supports from

myself. The survey has seven domains: Transition Planning, Transition Assessment, Family

Involvement, Student Involvement, Transition-Focused Curriculum and Instruction, Interagency

Collaboration and Community Services and Systems Level Infrastructure. The area where I need

the most improvement in is Transition Assessment domain, as I had a score of 1.67. This came

about as I do not feel that there is a wide variety of assessments being used for transition nor do I

feel that they are being completed continually throughout the year, as they should be. Since this

is not an ongoing thing as I feel is should be the results are not being shared in a meaningful

way. We do have very good summary of performances though, so here I do believe that we are

developing goals for future successfully to a point; yet, we could be doing do much better if we
had more of a variety of assessments used and they be ongoing. Therefore, I am choosing this

area to do more research on and use for my running project.

The second area that we need to improve on is the Student Involvement Domain the score

of 2.29. This is mainly because several of the areas that we cover do not have access to a lot of

post-school options to show students without traveling, which is not always feasible. Most of the

time I know that they are using evidence based practices and curriculum but I feel that it is not

always used in the best possible way. As some of the students would benefit if taught a little

differently or a curriculum that is a little lower for them to understand fully. The other part is the

parents education on self-determination and self-advocacy, I feel this is not being done nearly

enough. There are too many times I am trying to get to know a student to find out how I can best

support them and their parents over talk them and say the opposite of what their child states that

they would like. I feel we are not providing enough education about this to our parents and

families. We do however, provide real-life and meaningful choices to the students as well as

teach them skills needed and used to help develop their transition plan.

The final area of need is the Systems Level Infrastructure Domain with a score of 2.88. I

know this is not all that low, yet it all comes back to the assessments and having that variety. I

feel that we do not have enough of the data systems to evaluate our secondary and transition

programs. We are very good at having one main person per district that coordinates everything

with us outside agencies. This happens to be the Special Education director or principal

depending on the size of the school both at times are the same person. Also, the students are

included a lot more then I have observed in other districts in their general education classrooms

and in activities.
 The remaining four areas of the survey I feel that we are doing well in. The score for each

of these sections are a 3. The first domain of Transition Planning, I feel that we could do better

at starting more students earlier than 16. As of now those that start earlier are usually only those

with severe disabilities even though some students with mild disabilities could benefit from

earlier transition. The schools do well at focusing the goals on the students, wants, dreams and

aspirations, but I do feel we could do a little better at this with helping them to find a happy

medium of what the family feels is good for the student and what the student really wants. As at

times it goes back to what the family wants for the child as they are, most of the time, the

guardians. The second domain that we did well in was Family Involvement. We are very good at

making sure that all family members that the students wish to be at the meeting are present and

their ideas, suggestions and thoughts are taking into consideration with the IEP and supports of

the student. Each school does provide training to the families about transition but as I have said

earlier, I feel a better job could be done. The family is very involved in the whole process but as I

said before at times they are too involved and it clouds the students wishes. The third domain

that we scored well on was, Transition-Focused Curriculum and Instruction. I have noticed that

the districts are very good at identifying accommodations that can be provided to the students so

they can remain in the general education classroom. We are lucky that our state allows each

school to have a Project Skills program to provide community employment and work readiness

education. Now with independent living skills I know our smaller schools are doing a much

better job at this then our larger districts. This may be due to the number of students with the

need of the education or the intensity of the instruction. The fourth and final domain that we did

well on is Interagency Collaboration and Community Services. Our districts have a great

working relationship with the Department of Labor, Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the
 CSP. We make sure to all communicate on what we feel would benefit the student and what we

feel we can contribute to the services and supports for the student to succeed. Now

recommendations are always made before the student exits school, this is true, however, they are

not always done when they should be as the application process and funding process to switch to

adult services can be a long process and at times they want the services the day after they

graduate thinking that it is possible. When the whole process should be approved through the

state and hoops should be jumped through before anything can happen. So, I feel that we could

improve on this. And we really have improved on this, in the past I would get about 5-7 students

every June that want services starting July 1st, with no application or funding requested. Make

my job difficult when trying to explain that it takes time for the process. Now as of last year I

only had 3 students come in June wanting their services to start July 1st with no application.

Improvement has been made but still a way to go. Q

I Summary - overall score: 2.7

Transition Planning Domain Score:
1. Transition planning begins early in a student's educational experience (but no later than 16 years old).
2. Progress toward a student's postsecondary goals are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
3. Transition planning incorporates student-centered approaches (e.g., MAPS, Personal Futures Planning
4. Postsecondary goals are based upon student strengths, interests, and preferences.
5. Postsecondary goals target postsecondary education/training, employment, and when appropriate independent living.
6. Transition services and a course of study are identified to assist the student to reach postsecondary goals.
7. Annual IEP goals addressing both academics and transition needs are identified.
8. Approaches are used during transition planning to identify outcomes supporting student and family cultures.
Transition Assessment Domain Score:
9. A wide variety of formal and informal transition assessments are available to use with students.
10. Assessments for each student evaluate specific transition needs, strengths, preferences, and interests.
11. The transition assessment process is ongoing throughout the year.
12. Transition assessment results are shared with students, families and staff in a meaningful way.
13. Student postsecondary goals are based on transition assessment results.
14. A summary of performance with recommendations for meeting postsecondary goals is developed when student exits
high school
Family Involvement Domain Score:
15. Family members (including extended family, friends, or legal guardians) regularly participate in transition planning and
IEP meetings.
16. The family's needs and supports are taken into consideration during transition planning.
17. Information and training are provided to families about transition.
18. Pre-planning activities are in place so families can provide input prior to transition meetings.
19. Family members are actively involved throughout the transition planning process.
20. Supports are in place to involve family members in transition planning meetings (e.g., flexible time and location,
language interpreter).
Student Involvement Domain Score:
21. Decision-making skills are taught using evidence-based curriculum and/or strategies.
22. Opportunities to make real-life, meaningful choices are provided to students.
23. Goal setting skills using evidence-based curriculum and/or strategies are taught.
24. Opportunities for students to learn about specific post-school options (e.g., postsecondary education and training,
employment, independent living) are provided.
25. Evidence-based curriculum and/or strategies are used to teach students to develop and lead their transition planning
process.
26. Students have the opportunity to lead their IEP and transition planning process.
27. Parents are provided with information and training to support student self-determination and self-advocacy.
Transition-Focused Curriculum and Instruction Domain Score:
28. Programs are in place to teach academic strategies (e.g., mnemonics, graphic displays, learning strategies,
self-management).
29. Accommodations are identified and implemented in the general curriculum.
30. Effective instructional methods are in place to teach academic content (e.g., universal design for learning, cooperative
groups).
31. School- based programs are in place to teach career development.
32. Work-based programs are in place for community employment and career experiences.
33. Programs are in place to teach independent living skills.
34. Programs are in place to teach social/interpersonal skills.
Interagency Collaboration and Community Services Domain Score:
35. School-business partnerships exist to support career development activities.
36. A process is in place for schools and agencies to determine the anticipated service needs of students who are moving
from school to community services.
37. Referrals to outside agencies are completed before students exit school.
38. Accurate information about the range of community services is provided to students and families.
39. Interagency agreements identify roles and responsibilities regarding exchanging information, sharing resources, and
coordinating services.
Systems Level Infrastructure Domain Score:
40. A comprehensive data collection system is in place that includes academic, behavioral, transition, and postsecondary
outcomes data.
41. Comprehensive data systems are used to evaluate secondary programs and transition services.
42. The school district has at least one professional responsible for coordinating transition services and working with
outside agencies.
43. Dropout prevention programs are in place to support students to engage in school.
44. Transition policies and procedures are communicated to all school personnel involved in transition planning.
45. Procedures are in place for facilitating the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education programs,
activities, and extra-curricular events.
46. Teachers in core academic and vocational courses are provided with assistance to adapt instruction to meet the diverse
needs of students.
47. Professional development related to transition is regularly provided to school personnel involved in transition planning.

Part Two:

The area of domain that I decided to do more research on is that of Transition

Assessments as I feel that my district has not been doing the best of job in this area, seeing as we

scored a total of 1.67 on the Quality Indicator survey. The main reason for this is that I do not

feel that my district uses a wide enough variety of transitional assessments nor do they

continually update the ones that they do complete. Since these things are not completed the

information is not shared to keep the entire IEP team updated. With I looked for ideas on

different types of transitional assessments or programs that might help my district to do better

within this domain. As a reminder, I am going into this research to assist my school district as I

am one of the contributing members of several IEP teams as the Community Support Providers

Education Coordinator; so, the survey was scored based upon what I have been able to observe.
 Study (APA Citation)
Orv C. Karan, Pamela
DonAroma, Mary Beth
Bruder, and Laura A.
Roberts (2010) Transitional
Assessment Model for
Students With Severe
and/or Multiple
Disabilities: Competency-
Based Community
Assessment. Intellectual
and Developmental
Disabilities: October 2010,
Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 387-
392.
Alison B. Lowenthal, MA
and Diane S., Bassett, PhD
(2012) Transition
Assessment Using Gap
Analysis to Enhance
Effective Transition
Planning. Intervention in
School and Clinic:
September 2012, Vol 48,
No 1, pp. 30-37.
Beth Harry (2008)
Collaboration With
Purpose(s) of Study Key Findings
1. Explain why quality Several individual
transition plans are students have
necessary. difficulties with
2. Explain Competency- generalization, causing
Based Community less than successful
Assessment and how it outcomes for those
is used. students.
The Competency-
Based Community
Assessment is a great
starting point for a
transition plan. It also
is great as a baseline or
for benchmarks.
Helping you to provide
the best education and
support to your student.
1. How to analysis Description on how to
assessment data and use screening data to
why it should be done. determine the current
2. How to calculate the performance levels of
gap and growth and its your students in a
importance. multitude of areas.
A detailed description
on how to go about
calculating your
students growth.
A detailed description
on how to calculate the
students gaps.
A detailed description
on how to calculate
their gaps based upon
their growth rate.
Importance of progress
monitoring and
diagnostic assessments.
After the pass of EHA
1. Importance of CDL families still had
collaboration with
 Study (APA Citation)
Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse
Families: Ideal Verse
Reality. Council for
Exceptional Children:
2008, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp.
372-388.
Websites:
Transition Response
J Lynn Enterprises, LLC. (n.d.)Resources on Assessment, Transition Planning, and Transition
Services for Special Education Professionals, and Students with Disabilities and their Families.
Retrieved May 10th, 2016, from http://transtionresponse.com
Purpose(s) of Study
your culturally diverse
families,
understanding their
definition of
collaboration.
2. Adjusting assessments
due to culture.
3. Understanding cultural
conflicts.
Key Findings
the issues of mistrust,
professional
insensitivity and
limited provision of
information on their
rights.
Racism and negative
stereotypes still affects
education at all levels.
You need to understand
the cultural of the
student so you can
adjust your types of
assessments. May end
up using more informal
assessments rather than
formal assessments due
to culture or linguistics.
You need to be
prepared to face
different cultures it is
suggested that those
professionals should
take a course on
multicultural histories
and communication.
Abstract:

This website is designed for mainly professionals but it does have great information and

articles for families, adults and students who would like more information on assessments. It is

an easily navigable website with lots of resources on different assessments that can be used that

are free or some that have a fee under the Products and Resources tab. There is also access to

some curriculum that can be useful for transition like The 411 on Disability Disclosure, which

I happen to use with my students that I have that transition to my services to help learn when

they should or should not disclose, what they should disclose, why they should and how they

should. Access to transition planning forms and a long list of exemplary post-secondary

programs for special needs. If you want more information about what is on the site they have a

toll-free number or you can email your questions. Under the tab called Consultation Training and

Direct Services it talks about training that a school could get from Ms. Imperatore, on how to

work with students with disabilities and understanding the laws. Finally, under that tab labeled

Vocational Evaluation, Transition Assessment and Transition Planning it talks about different

things that can be used to help students to make informed choices.

State Support Team 15

Secondary Transition. (n.d.) Retrieved May 10th, 2016, from

http://www.rpesd.org/secondarytransition.aspx

Abstract:

This website is designed for professionals with in the counties of Ross, Pike, Scioto and

Lawrence in Ohio. It was easy to navigate through all the tabs as you start in Secondary

transition you notice to the left side there is a list of six topics under Secondary Transition; Age

14 and up requirements, Age Appropriate Transition Assessments, Post-Secondary goals, Couse

of Study, Transition services/activities, and General information on transition. Each section

having information and/or resources available. There is a lot of helpful resources under the Age

Appropriate Transition Assessment tab that once clicked open the forms/assessments in a usable

word document. It also talks about getting even more resources and information from the site

http://www.khake.com.

Summary

I have learned a bit from the articles that I read, for one, the use of the Competency-

Based Community Assessment, how it is used and why it can be so helpful. I currently complete

situational assessments and this assessment is a play on those just with even more. I know now

the districts do not have this but they do work experiences, but it is not just to try it out you work

there for so many hours or if you quit/get fired they try to find another job. This is an article that

I have already made copies of to distribute to the school districts that I work with to help provide

another transition assessment. Also, I did notice that each article did talk about making sure that

you are providing a multitude of assessments to get that clear picture of your student but not to

rely just on those formal assessments as the informal assessments can provide a lot of valuable

information, but you must document it all thoroughly so that it can be analyzed and tracked for

progress. I did find it interesting about the gap analysis. I have not heard of a school district that

has completed the analysis or growth charts but I can really see how this can be extremely

helpful to see where we really need to be providing that additional support and education to our

students to make sure that we are helping them to succeed in their transition.

The websites that I found I did google searches for transition assessments, the reason

being is because I hardly see more than one type of assessment completed with the districts I
work with. The websites had so much fantastic information and access to different assessments

either the website to complete the assessment or with the case with the State Team the actual

assessment in a word documents, which is very helpful as I found several that I will be using

with my students and will be suggesting them to the districts to consider using them as well. I

enjoyed finding this information and access to such great resources so that I can share the

information and hopefully help those districts that I work with to improve in transition

assessments.

I found this entire project to be an eye opener of how much I have noticed that the district

do and do not do. I feel this is really the struggling area for all of them and hope that with my

new knowledge I can help them with this issue.