Transition Tennessee (TransitionTN) is a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education, the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Vanderbilt University, and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
TransitionTN hosts a free website (www.transitiontn.org) for transition professionals (e.g., Special Educators or Pre-Employment Transition Services {Pre-ETS} providers), families, and students. Website resources include:
- Professional development courses for transition professionals.
- Course content covers best practices on transition-related topics.
- Some course examples include:
- Addressing Transition in the IEP
- Pathways to Education and Training
- Power of Early Work Experiences
- Instruction in Self-Advocacy
- Information for families about preparing for life after high school.
- Resources include family tip sheets that cover transition topics in an easy-to-read format.
- Some of the Family Tip sheet topics include:
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
- Diploma Options
- Student portion of the TransitionTN website provides interactive transition-based lessons and activities. There are two main transition topics the student can explore: I Want to Go to Work, and I Want to Continue My Education.
- The student website includes student lessons. Each lesson includes:
- A Role-Play scenario where students are presented with a character and a situation involving the transition lesson topic
- Get Involved Activities for school and community-based settings that provide opportunities to practice their skills
- A My Portfolio component where students create a personalized document that applies the knowledge they have gained
- Activity Plans and Instructor Resources for professionals or family members
- E-learning Quick Activities that focus on a single transition topic.
- Quick Activities are in the format of an interactive book that can be completed in under 20 minutes.
- Coming Soon: A new course for students – I Want to Live an Independent Lifestyle
- The new course will have lessons on:
- How Can I Be Independent with My Finances?
- How Can I Be Independent in My Work?
- How Can I Be Independent in My Daily Living?
- How Can I Be Independent in My Personal Life?
- The new course will have lessons on:
- Bi-monthly virtual webcasts that cover a variety of transition topics.
- All webcasts are recorded and captioned.
- Previous webcast topics include:
- Assistive Technology for Transition
- The ADA, Disability Disclosure, and Self-Advocacy
- What Centers for Independent Living (CIL) can do for You
- Other Transition Resources
- Assessment Database: Offers over 100 transition-focused assessments searchable by transition area
- Curriculum Database: Offers several transition-focused curricula for professionals to use with their students, searchable by transition domain and Pre-ETS area
- Past Trainings: Archived trainings that have been presented across the state.
- Pre-ETS Sequencing Guide: Provides a step-by-step guide to planning Pre-ETS activities with students
- Resource Library: Offers all the TransitionTN resources in one, easy-to-search location
- Bi-Monthly Newsletter: Covers transition topics, resources, agencies, and much more
- TrantionTN’s Technical Assistance:
- Recently, TransitionTN joined the Tennessee Department of Education’s Technical Assistance Network (TN-TAN) as the state-contracted secondary transition technical assistance provider.
- For more information or to make a referral request go to https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/e8ab8cf93a0942cf931fc31864cb62c3
To access all TransitionTN’s online resources, you will need to create a free user account by visiting www.transitiontn.org/register/. *The Student website does not require a user account.
For questions about TransitionTN, please reach out to info@transitiontn.org.
About the Authors:
Hope Armstrong is an Educational Consultant in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Master of Arts in Education in School Counseling. Her previous work has focused on serving youth in various settings. She has provided Pre-Employment Transition Services to youth and young adults in the high school and postsecondary education settings. She worked in partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to help these individuals reach their goals. She also has experience working as a teacher, intervention specialist for a family preservation program, and program manager of a therapeutic foster care program.
Christina Muri Irland is an Educational Consultant in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. She received a dual Bachelor of Arts in Special and Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Special Education. Her previous work as a Transition Specialist for Chicago Public Schools focused on supporting special education staff who developed and delivered transition instruction in their classrooms. She also has experience working as a low-incidence Special Education Teacher and Department Chair in an urban high school setting. Her passion for preparing her students and their families for life after high school helped all her students get connected with adult agencies.