While educators associate the "beginning of the year" with August/September as we busily prepare for schools to open, those not within the school realm are often confused to hear this phrase so far away from the turn of the calendar year. Beginnings are exciting, and the beginning of the school year comes with challenges, changes, and opportunities. We hope your return to school is a chance to put into practice strategies you may have thought about or learned over the summer. You make a difference to all your students and their families. Your impact is far-reaching.
At CCTS, our summer included opportunities to learn from many of our colleagues, as well as welcome a new member to our team. We’re eager to share and look forward to working with you in this new year!
Welcome, Meg Iyer, Ed.D, NCSP
CCTS is thrilled to introduce you to Meg Iyer, the newest addition to our team. Meg has been an educator for nearly 20 years, starting out as a teacher and then switching roles to a school psychologist. By working with students of all ages, from preschool to high school, she’s gained a deep understanding of the educational system and the critical role of transition services in empowering students as they step into adulthood.
Meg's commitment to continuous learning led her to recently earn her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Gonzaga University, where she focused her studies on inclusionary practices at the high school level. In addition to her new role as CCTS’s Special Education Transition Specialist, Meg teaches and supervises school psychology interns at Seattle University’s College of Education. Meg is an enthusiastic advocate for student-led transition services and looks forward to working with our partners across the state.
CCTS Virtual Transition Forum Highlights
Over the summer, CCTS hosted an online gathering of transition practitioners to explore the power of post-school outcome data. All presentation recordings and slide decks are available online. Highlights include:
Daily Kick-Off Guest Speakers
- What, So What, Now What: Post-School Outcomes (16:30) – Dr. Charlotte Alverson, NTACT:C
- It Takes All of Us: Partnering for Post-School Data & Outcomes (8:30) – Dr. Tania May, OSPI
- Secondary Transition (5:45) – Alexandra Toney, OSPI
Presentations
- Learning from the Stories Behind the Data: Why Students with Disabilities are Dropping out of High School in Washington state (45:50) – Dr. Cynthia Gale, Seattle University, Issaquah School District
- Using Post-School Outcome Data to Inform Transition Planning (23:35) – Monique Patel, University Place School District
- Skagit County Interagency Transition Network (39:40) – Nick Harris, DVR
Visit www.cctsForum.com for more great content!
Washington Summer Transition Institute Highlights
In early August, CCTS had the opportunity to attend and present at the 2023 Washington Summer Transition Institute (WA-STI). Funded by the Washington Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (WA-DVR) and coordinated by Washington State University Research and Innovation in Special Education (WSU RISE), the event included a series of transition-focused workshops, speakers, and opportunities for professional networking and planning.
Participants included transition-focused practitioners from around the state, including special education teachers, school guidance counselors, CTE staff, school administrators, and WA-DVR staff.
Presentation slide decks are available on the WA-STI website. Highlights include:
- Building Equity into Transition Practice and Service Delivery – Dr. James Sinclair, University of Oregon
- Engaging Students in Meaningful Conversations About Work: The Why and the How – Dr. Anya Sheftel, Washington State University
- Leveraging Rural Strengths and Developing Community Partnerships – Drs. Josh Taylor and Holly Whittenburg, Washington State University
- Leveraging the Power of Post-School Outcome Data: School Teams and DVR – Elaine Marcinek and Jay Shepherd, CCTS
Have you seen your post-school outcomes?
Are you curious to know about your former students’ education and employment activities after they leave high school? Be sure to check out the post-school outcome data reports available on the CCTS website for your ESDs and counties. If you work for a school district, you can access district-level reports from our secure data collection platform.
School districts can use these reports to evaluate the effectiveness of their special education programs. If you have questions about accessing or understanding the data, please send us an email at ccts@seattleu.edu.
Training Opportunities
CCTS’s self-paced, online transition training courses are designed for educators, agencies, and families/caregivers. Materials are available from the CCTS website free of charge. To earn clock hours for course completion, register through eLearning for Educators.
Transition Foundations
The Transition Foundations series is designed to promote best practices in student-centered transition planning.
- Writing Effective Transition Plans (Module 9 includes details about aligning the IEP and the High School and Beyond plan)
- Student Led IEPs
- Developing Job Shadow Experiences
Inclusionary Practices
Developed as part of OSPI's Inclusionary Practices Project (IPP), this course highlights how partnerships between Special Education (SE) and Career Technical Education (CTE) can increase inclusionary practices.