12 Transition to Post Secondary

While the B.C. government stipulates guidelines for transition planning in the K-12 system (see box above), these guidelines appear to be implemented to varying degrees depending on the district, school, teacher, level of family advocacy, etc. Differences also depend, in part, on whether students are on a “Dogwood Diploma” track or on and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) track to obtain a school leaving certificate, also known as an “Evergreen Certificate.” While students on a dogwood track must meet specific outcomes related to work experience, for those obtaining evergreen certificates, “There are few measurable standards or expectations applied for graduation.” ^[2] There are no standard requirements for students finishing school with a “school leaving certificate”, or an “Evergreen” certificate, other than for students to have met the goals of their IEP. In fact, many students and families appear unaware that students who receive an “Evergreen” certificate have not actually achieved graduation (See inset below).

There has been little consistency reported in the career education experience for those students leaving the secondary system on the Evergreen track. While some students have had the opportunity to participate in multiple work experiences in high school, either in the community, on campus, or both, others arrive at post-secondary with no work experience. The level of support they may have received on work experience also varies greatly, from working in small groups with an Educational Assistant (EA) present, through to fully independent placements. In The Handbook of Research Based Practices for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Paul Wehman, et al, state, “It is likely that brief experiences resulting in two to three times a week with one to two hours each time of community-based employment training are not intensive enough to allow young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to identify their strengths, interests, and preferences.” ^[3] Given that “…it could be argued that work experience and work during the secondary school years are among the most, if not the most important predictors of adult employment success for all youth who receive special education services,” ^[4] this inconsistency clearly disadvantages those students who have limited, or no opportunity with work experience prior to leaving high school.

There is “overwhelming anecdotal and empirical evidence that work experience during secondary and post-secondary school years is one of the most important factors that predicts long-term adult employment success, regardless of a youth’s disability label or the nature of his or her educational services.” ^[5] Consistently, the most prominent factors shown to be associated with successful post-school employment outcomes are paid and unpaid work experiences during the last years of secondary school and the completion of a high school diploma (Colley & Jamison, 1998; Johnson & Thurlow, 2003; Luecking & Fabian 200; Wagner, Newman, Cameto & Levine, 2005, as cited in Luecking, 2009). ^[6] According to Luecking ^[7]  “Simply stated, youth benefit from frequent and continuous exposure to real work environments throughout the secondary school years and beyond.”

These students are also not well prepared for transitioning to the increased expectations that accompany post-secondary education, work and adulthood. The transition from high school to post-secondary is significant for all students as they and their families/support networks are faced with challenges related to the change in status from child to adult. At the post-secondary level, students are suddenly expected to demonstrate independence and to take full responsibility for their education.  As with career education, students may or may not have had assistance with transition planning. There are many factors at play in the K-12 system which influence which education and transition supports are available to students, such as individual philosophical and funding differences in schools and districts, supports available, amount of advocacy available, etc. While family support is generally appreciated and welcomed at the post-secondary level, the role and involvement of families and advocates changes, as each student’s right to privacy and autonomy must be respected. This change in status and responsibility requires students to make decisions about their work experiences which their family/advocate may or may not agree with. Institutions are required to follow Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), which can be problematic if a student chooses to exclude those in their support network or chooses not share information with them. This also limits the scope and application of discovery-type models in developing personal profiles and work themes, as input may be limited to the student and program personnel. Generally, programs try to facilitate communication and supports with families/advocates while respecting the wishes of the student. However, it is a time when many youth grapple with these same decisions about life and their future and some support may be required in making and conveying decisions which or may not be in agreement with their family’s plans for them. Improvements in transition planning and programming would help, as would an increased focus on partnerships with school districts in increasing the availability of dual-credit or early-entry (high school/post-secondary) programming.