Summary of Performance

Just a reminder that if you have a student graduating in December, they will need to walk out of high school with a Summary of Performance in their hand. The idea behind a Summary of Performance (SOP) is that the student and their family have a reference of where to go for help after they leave high school. In addition,  if a student chooses to identify themselves as a person with a disability, the college will most often ask for a SOP first... so encourage the students to put this particular form in a safe file... and not the circular one... :-) 

If you have questions about how to complete a Summary of Performance, check out the how to on the right hand side of the blog. If you still aren't sure, please feel free to contact me, I would be happy to help you in any way! I hope you are having a great start to the holiday season! Take care!

A few helpful hints

Hi Everyone!

 I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and that the black Friday sales treated you well! :-) 

Over the past few weeks, I have been going through transition plans at various high schools and found that there are a few common mistakes that are easily avoidable, so I thought I would put together a little post to address the most common ones. In addition, on the right hand side I posted a Transition Checklist, that will help you double check that your plan is legally compliant. So with out further ado, here is a list of the common mistakes:

1. On the first page of the transition plan, make sure your transition goals are MEASURABLE. In the area of instruction, they should read:

Upon High School graduation the student WILL ATTEND ____________ full time/part time.

The language "plans on", "might" and "thinks: is NOT measurable and is not legally compliant.

2. If you list an assessment in the Assessment section, make sure you address the results in the summary section. These results should be data driven and should not include opinions and or speculation.

3. In the student strengths preferences area, please list what you know about the student that will make them successful in their chosen career or instructional goals. This is where observations and opinions can be listed. Make sure you write relevant and specific data to that student.

4. On page two of the transition plan, make sure you restate the students instructional and employment goal in the student needs section. Basically, you are just stating WHY you are working on the linked goal in relation to their transition goal. (FOR EXAMPLE:  The student will need to improve their reading comprehension skills to be successful at Joliet Junior College)

5. Make sure you LINK YOUR GOALS!!!

6. The course of study now only has to include the REMAINING years of school, but it has to be SPECIFIC to the student and can not be a general course of study. 

7. Make sure you attach your your permission form to invite an agency and most importantly, make sure YOU INVITE AN AGENCY! :-)

As always, if you have any other questions, please contact me!!

I hope you all have an excellent start to your holiday season!

Take Care! 

Career Solutions

Spotlight on:

CORNERSTONE

Career Solutions

What do they do?!

Cornerstone career solutions is an agency that will help develop jobs for students once they graduate from our programs. They will help with resumes. finding jobs, filling out job applications, and ,when deemed appropriate, supply a job coach.

How do I qualify?

Most students with an IEP will qualify for some or all of their services. DHS decides whom and what to fund.

How do I get started?

To get started, you will need to speak with an intake coordinator at the Employment Service Center. Call 815-727-6667, and tell them that you would like to set up an intake meeting. They will then set up a date for you to go to the Cornerstone office in Joliet OR they can come meet with you in your home town if you arrange it. 

What happens then?

When you have your meeting with Cornerstone, you will need to have an IEP, your most recent eligibility testing, a school or state ID and your Social Security CARD (not just the number). They will ask you some questions about what you like and what you see yourself doing. Once you have your meeting with Cornerstone, they determine what services you may or may not be eligible for.

If you have any questions about Cornerstone and what they do, or if you need help contacting them, please do not hesitate to contact your friendly Transition Coordinator

815-942-5780.

Agencies

Hey Everyone! 

 I hope that the school year is treating you well and that you and your students are hitting that October groove. As I am out in the different buildings, I find that I am getting a lot of questions about the agency piece of the transition plan. This part of the transition plan exists to give families direction and a life line after they leave the security of the school setting. In order to maintain compliance, we 

MUST INVITE AN AGENCY TO EVERY IEP MEETING AFTER A STUDENT TURNS 14 1/2 AND have proof that we had PERMISSION to invite that agency. However, if the agency does not attend the meeting, they do not need to be excused from the meeting. We only nee to prove that we invited them. So, now the question is, who do we invite!?!? Depending on what they need, here are some common agencies that can be invited.

If a student is going to need help gaining or maintaining employment:

Cornerstone Career Solutions 

800 Black Road

Joliet, IL 60435

815-727-6694

or

JJC Grundy Workforce

1715 N. Division St

Morris, IL 60450

815-942-0566

If a student needs help identifying themselves as a person with disability at Joliet Junior College:

Jacque Klicka

Star Program

1214 Houbolt Road

Joliet, IL 60431

815-280-2230

If a student needs help living independently: 

Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living

2415-A Jefferson Street

Joliet, IL 60435

815-729-0162

In addition, always mention the Will-Grundy transition conference that is held at JJC in March. It usually runs from 9-12 and there is no cost to attend. It's a great one stop shop for the families, as many different agencies are all represented at the same place.

Of course, if you have questions or need other suggestions, feel free to contact me at any time. 

Take Care!

Welcome back!

Hi Everyone! 

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year! For many of you, this might be your first trip to the transition blog....You can come here for your one stop shop of transition fun and goodness. On the right you will find documents that will help you with filling out your transition paper work. The newest addition is the  TRANSITION MANUAL (insert sunshine and sparkles here). The transition manual is full of information about the different agencies in Grundy and Will Counties that are available to help out our kiddos. There is a brief description of what they do, how to contact them, and, in some cases, who to contact. If you find that there is something in the manual that you find is inaccurate OR something that you would like to have added, just give me a call and I will get it added or deleted. 
In the next few weeks, I will be heading out to all high schools to give the overview of how to create a transition plan. I will also go through a transition check list and the indicator 13 form. If you at any time have questions, feel free to contact me. I hope you all have a great start to the year, and I look forward to seeing you all soon!!

Take Care!

TPI Results

Hi Everyone!
 I have been working on getting your TPI results to you as quickly as possible. We had a slight glitch in the system... (the reports were stuck in the program and wouldn't come out!) But, it seems as that is all fixed now! :-)
 The TPI is designed to show us the areas of concern in the areas of employment. further education, daily living skills, leisure activities, community participation, health, self-determination, communication, and interpersonal relationships. When you look at the students TPI report, areas that have an average score of less then 3 are considered "deficit areas." After identifying these areas, you can look in your teacher guide for suggested goals to address these areas. To save yourself some time in writing goals, it might be helpful to identify goals that can address multiple deficit areas, as you may find that many areas overlap.
 As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time! :-D


Happy Annual Review time! :-)