Skip To Main Content

Secondary Transition Services

Complementing a rigorous academic program in all schools and at all levels, students with special needs receive comprehensive transitional services beginning at age 14.  Opportunities for real world experience and community involvement help students  gain knowledge and confidence for making future decisions.  Services provided encompass many different aspects, all designed to support students in considering post-secondary education, training, and/or employment.  To this end, transition specialists partners with special education teams to complete transition assessments, develop recommendations for post secondary goals, and gather information through age-appropriate methods to better understand a students' interests and needs in the context of readiness for independence. Career exploration field trips, vocational exploration, and school to work seminars are all programmatic elements that promote a positive transition to a post secondary learning and/or employment setting.  


Services and programming for younger students generally differ from upper classmen and include opportunities for user friendly career discussion and exploration, exploratory field trips, and "X Block" seminars that address telephone skills, creating a basic resume, and exposure to written and on-line job applications.  As student matriculate through high school, school to work initiatives include participation in career exploration and  job shadowing activities, finalizing resumes, creating career portfolios, and other more advanced employment skills.  For some students, career exploration activities may count for credit and/or community service learning requirements.  


All special education programs are part of an educational continuum, designed to support students as they matriculate across grades and settings through graduation or the age of 22. As each student grows and learns, their personality and individual character matures, allowing them to benefit from, and most importantly, contribute to society as adults. Connections with outside agencies through the 688 process (i.e., MRC, DDS, Mass. Health, Social Security) facilitate a seamless transition to adult life. 


For student ages 18 to 22, many students transition to the LifeStart Program (see below) with a focus on functional academics, vocational training, social communication, emotional regulation, independent living skills, community experiences, and safety awareness with the ultimate goal of providing a progression of onsite vocational and daily living experiences to facilitate a smooth transition to adult services.