Sharing in IEP Development and Implementation Communities of Practice as Partners in the Process

Oklahoma Regional Transition Training Sessions Atoka - Feb. 27, 28 Oklahoma City - Feb. 29, Mar.1 Ellen Romett, Debra Grabill IDEA Partnership at NASDSE

Transition IEP Development and Implementation IEP Development for Transition Age Students INHERENT DIFFERENCES (I THINK THE RULES CHANGED!) IEP moves beyond content instruction to attainment of “after school” opportunities Instructional Environments extended beyond the school building Implementers of the IEP go beyond school personnel only, i.e. business owners, agency personnel, community program staff, etc.

Transition IEP Development and Implementation Transition as defined in regulations requires schools to work beyond their boundaries to assure students’ success in their intended post-school outcomes Schools are required to assure students have the competencies for work, for post-secondary education, for community living, and all the various possibilities within each! And, that students and parents are connected to the agencies and service delivery providers who will support post school outcomes!

Transition IEP Development and Implementation Do these requirements present challenges to IEP development in Oklahoma? Are there other school staff who have information to help in transition planning? Other service providers? Community partners? Business partners? Are there service providers who work with your students? Do they have information about your students that you don’t have but that could be helpful?

Transition IEP Development and Implementation Have you ever been in a situation when the student’s intended post-school outcome is to work in a field totally unfamiliar to you, and the IEP includes a field-based experience to increase the students potential for a successful post-school outcome? Have you had students who will require certain public funded social support services when they leave school for which you are unaware of the eligibility requirements?

Communities of Practice (CoP) Communities of Practice: Opportunities for Sharing Knowledge and Practices Communities of Practice (CoP) “A group of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their understanding and knowledge of this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.” (Etienne Wenger et.al., 2002)

Communities of Practice: Opportunities for Sharing Knowledge and Practices The Spirit of Community: We Are In This Together A community of practice on secondary transition comes together around the shared vision of youth with disabilities becoming productive, self-sufficient citizens. Working as a community helps to solve some of the persistent problems that we each face daily. Transition outcomes are not ‘one system’ outcomes. We need each other!

Everyone invested in improving the outcomes of youth Transition Communities of Practice: Opportunities for Sharing Knowledge and Practices Who are the members in a Transition CoP??? Everyone invested in improving the outcomes of youth School Personnel OVR Counselors Human Services Agency Staff Technical School Staff Youth Business Leaders Family members Higher Education Representative s Public Health Agency Staff

Transition Communities of Practice: Transition Communities of Practice: Opportunities for Sharing Knowledge and Practices Getting Started or Getting Involved What can you do……… Identify some of the persistent problems you face in developing and implementing transition programs. Who else faces these problems or similar problems? Who represents programs or services that could provide solutions to the problems? Could coming together around the issues bring more clarity to the issues , different perspectives and potential solutions? Invite the stakeholders , start the dialogue, share in the problem solving and in the solutions.

For More Information IDEA Partnership at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education: www.ideapartnership.org IDEA Partnership Communities of Practice Website: www.sharedwork.org Ellen Romett: eromett@yahoo.com Debra Grabill: debra.grabill@valley.net