A program was developed in the Norwalk, Connecticut schools to smooth student transition between elementary, intermediate, and high schools. It includes spring orientation activities and staggered opening of school in September to give each new class full staff attention on the first day of school. (SJL)

The Teaching Research Transition Planning Project (Oregon) is implementing and evaluating the development of school/community teams to facilitate transition of handicapped students into the community. Preliminary evaluation results support the value of an outside stimulus to encourage collaboration, locally generated plans, and policy decision…

In activities designed to educate them about similarities and differences between disabled and nondisabled, disabling conditions in general, and a particular autistic child, six preschool children were compared to 12 control children on incident reports to teachers about the autistic child and in sociometric ratings concerning the child.…

The national survey to determine what state level transition provisions exist between special education and rehabilitation services for hearing-impaired students found that half of the vocational rehabilitation and one-fourth of the special education agencies have a formal state-level transition plan in place. (DB)

Discusses counseling, coordinating, and consulting responsibilities of school counselors that can be used to develop and implement effective transition procedures for mildly handicapped students who are moving from school to work or postsecondary education. Provides background information on the definition of transition, implementation problems,…

Highlights are offered of one district's 7 years of experience with a Walkabout program. Steps found to accelerate individual effectiveness among adolescents include building confidence, responsibility, attitude, and skills. These steps have also been appled to adults in seminars for teachers and administrators, a school improvement process, and…

A survey of 3,600 teachers by the National Center for Early Development and Learning (Pianta et al., 1999; NCEDL, 1999) found that teachers were concerned about children's transitions to school. Teachers reported that almost half (48 percent) of children entering kindergarten had moderate or serious problems adjusting to the new experience. These…

High school students with disabilities encounter many barriers to successful transition, and thus they are likelier to drop out of school than their nondisabled peers and have more difficulties finding employment. Policy makers and practitioners in many fields are increasingly using communities of practice as a core strategy for developing…

Since 1983, the California Postsecondary Education Commission has conducted six studies of the university eligibility of high school graduates to estimate the percentage of California public high school graduates who meet the admission requirements of the California State University and the University of California. The Commission's two most…

The future prosperity of the United States relies strongly upon the success of its higher education system. With an increasingly technological and competitive world economy, more jobs require the advanced skills and knowledge that higher education provides. Yet despite the significant efforts toward improving elementary and secondary education in…

Flexibility is a key term to emphasize when grouping students for instruction, since a student might be in a different group for one academic area as compared to another academic area. This paper describes grouping for different methods of reading instruction and other disciplines. The paper discusses the following: using basal readers, using…

This guide for parents of children with disabilities in Florida is intended to answer common questions about the exceptional student education program. The first chapter provides an overview of exceptional student education including laws about the education of children with disabilities, parents' records, planning a child's education, continuing…

This information brief explains the Transition Service Integration Model, an approach to integrating service systems at the point of transition for youth with significant disabilities. It explains that the Transition Services Integration Model is designed to combine the resources of school and postschool systems in sharing the costs of a…

This paper describes the Pathfinders program in New York (New York), which works to facilitate the full integration of adults with developmental disabilities into workplaces and neighborhoods. The paper is organized around the question of whether students graduating from special education can find paid and volunteer work in community settings,…

Three brochures provide basic information and resources on post-high school options for students with disabilities. The first brochure (Becky Raabe) developed in March 2000, explores college and university options. After listing prominent individuals whose disabilities did not stop them from continuing their education, information is provided on…