IACAC Summer Institute 2012 Julie Smith

1. Visions of Post-Secondary
Education
• Julie Smith
Transition Specialist

2. COLLEGE

3. Life Long
Learning Alternative
Work Post-
Secondary
2 year POST HIGH Technical
College SCHOOL School
4 Year
College Community
College
Apprenticeships

6.  What kind of skills do you need in order to
be successful in college?
◦ Strong self motivation in college prep courses
◦ A full scale I.Q. in the average range of
intelligence
◦ Solid ability to understand verbal concepts and
symbols and to communicate ideas and thoughts
both orally and in writing
◦ Understanding of your learning style, including
an awareness of your academic strengths and
weaknesses
◦ Ability to function independently in the academic
environment

7.  IDEA  ADA
◦ Schools’ ◦ Individual
responsibility Responsibility
◦ LRE, quality and free ◦ Focus on
accommodations
◦ Individualized ◦ Focus on
Planning and related nondiscrimination
services and undue hardship
◦ Applies until student ◦ No link between
graduates of reaches federal funds and
age of 22 compliance with the
◦ Transition services law

8.  No IEP
 No IDEA, working under ADA and 504
regulations
 Pay for services
 Students must self identify

9.  Understand the disability and needs
 Understand the student’s strengths and how
he/she learns best
 What strategies are beneficial
 Practice becoming a self advocate
 Know your rights!

10.  Encourage student to be active in the IEP
process and other decision making situation
 Help student identify future goals or desired
outcomes
 Develop a list of strengths and areas of need
 Develop a list of accommodations
 Understand learning styles

11.  For students with disabilities, decision
making is complicated by limited choices and
the tendency for others to tell the student
what to do.

12.  Should you disclose? How?
◦ Personal Statement
 accommodations student has used
 what made the student successful
 examples from CHOICES booklet
 Be careful to not “over-disclose”
 Talk with your counselor and/or Transition
Counselor to discuss how and what to
disclose

13.  At most schools you need to meet the
admissions requirements to be accepted.
After you are accepted you work through the
disability support centers to gain
accommodations.

14.  In order to get accommodations, you need to
provide the school or program with
documentation of the disability
◦ Sign off on consent to disclose
◦ Ask Case Manager/Transition Coordinator to send
the documents directly to the school
◦ Private testing?
◦ Remember that students files are held by the the
district for 5 years after graduation

16.  Case Management Model – Schools work on
an individual basis with students to insure
success.
 Services Model – School provides appropriate
accommodations for students based on their
needs.

17.  Decisions regarding the exact
accommodations are made on an individual
basis.
 College selects the services
 Colleges are not required to provide
aides, services or devices for personal use or
study
 Requirements for graduation are the same as
general population.

18.  UW – Oshkosh (Project Success)
 UW- Whitewater (Project Assist)
 Southern Illinois University (Achieve
Program)
 Lynn (Comprehensive Support Program)
 Loras (Learning Disabilities Program)
 University of Arizona (SALT Program)
 U of Indianapolis (BUILD)
 Vincennes University (STEP)
 Lincoln College

19.  Landmark – specifically for students with LD
or ADHD
 Beacon – specifically for students with LD

20.  University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
 University of Illinois
 University of Wisconsin – Madison
 Purdue
 University of Arizona

22.  College of Lake County, Harper, Oakton
 Offer a variety of programs both technical
and academic
 All schools have offices for students with
disability
 Remedial classes are sometimes necessary
 Some students will not be eligible for CC
coursework

23.  Vincennes (STEP Program)
 Lincoln (ADHD) also good for LD
 Ferris State (some two year programs)
 Kirkwood

25. Some programs focus on basic skills review and
reinforcement of independent life skills.
 usually have their own contained facility or
separate facilities on traditional campuses.
 strong vocational component.
 An experiential approach to skill building and
vocational planning leads to non-degree status
upon graduation from the program.
 These programs are designed to accommodate
students whose options may not include traditional
college

26.  PACE Program (National Louis)
 ELSA (Elmhurst College)
 Career Foundations (Harper College)
 Personal Success Program (College of Lake
County)

27.  Chapel Haven; Westville, Conn.
 Lesley College- Threshold Program;
Cambridge, MA
 Life Development Institute; Phoenix, AZ
 Minnesota Life College; Richfield, MN
 New York Institute of Technology - VIP Program;
 Riverview School - GROW Program; East
Sandwich, MA
 Univ. of Alabama - Birmingham; Horizon Program.
 Supported School to Work Transition
Program, Lewis and Clark Community
College., Godfrey, Il
 Reach Program, University of Iowa

28.  A good choice for students with special
needs?
◦ More “hands on” programs
◦ Requirements vary but most require subject based
tests to assess potential for success in the chosen
program
◦ Most schools require a similar work ethic and
academic component as college
◦ Many do not offer anything more than mandated
accommodations

29.  Community College Certificate Programs
 Certificate programs are also available
through vocational programs that are not
taught in a community college, such as
through adult education programs or
specialized vocational schools. In addition,
some high schools offer vocational classes to
adults.

30.  Environmental Technical Institute (ETI)
 Universal Technical Institute (UTI)
 Full Sail
 Flash Point Academy
 Aveda Institute
 Pivot Point Academy
 Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago
(CHIC)
 ORT Institute

32.  Usually held on campus and give students a
“feel” for what college is like
 Both academic and social components
 Not always limited to graduating seniors or
students who have been accepted to the
college

33.  College Living Experience (CLE) -The CLE Summer Program
Denver, CO
 Colorado Mountain College (CMC) Summer College-Prep
Program Alpine ADVANTAGE Steamboat Springs, CO
 George Washington University - The GW Summer Scholars
Washington D.C.
 St. Ambrose University - Davenport, IA
 Curry College -The Learning Academy Milton, MA
 Landmark School -Preparatory Summer Program Prides
Crossing, MA, South Putney, VT
 Southern Illinois University -Carbondale, IL
Other programs can be found in Naviance

35.  Keep the students interest in mind
 Do not set the student up for failure
 Apply to a range of programs
 Research
 Campus/Site visits
 Know how student learns and operates
 Help the student to make smart decisions
regarding college

36.  CHOICES Fair
www.postsecondarychoices.org
 OPTIONS Fair
 Transition Coordinator
 Naviance/CareerCruising
 College and Career Center
 College Visits/Internet Exploration
 Heath Center http://www.heath.gwu.edu
 Glenbrook Transition Website
www.glenbrooktransition.org