Adult Transition Academy living area where students learn basic independent living skills.

The Adult Transition Academy is set up to deliver programs in functional academics, job skills, and life skills. The functional academic program corresponds to each student’s needs based on their Individual Education Plan (IEP). The academics directly relate to reading and math skills needed to be successful in an independent living environment or on the job. The young adult students being served now had the opportunity to transition into adulthood through their IEP goals and objectives with relevance and support.

Starting at age 16, every student identified with special needs has an IEP that includes transition goals. These goals are based on assessments done by the teachers and are designed to support their needs in moving out of the school environment. As some Chaffey High School District students progress through their high school years, they are also being prepped for the Adult Transition Academy for when they turn 18.

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The use of video prompting has shown to be very effective in many aspects of the Adult Transition Academy. Videos have been created for life skills such as following a recipe or loading the dishwasher or cleaning the kitchen. They have been used on job sites for the various tasks students will need to complete to be successful in the work force. Video prompting can be modified to use in any area where a student might need to review steps repeatedly in order to complete a task successfully.

Video prompting has also had a surprising success in personal growth. Recently, there was a new student in class who had a problem walking on “shiny” floors. When at the mall, the student was not able to walk out of a store that had carpeted floors to the tiled “shiny” mall floor. However, as a training video, it was believed that if the student saw success on the video, she would be able to move further and further along and not be restricted to carpeted floors. As she was being videotaped, the teachers and coaches were encouraging her to take one more step further from the carpet. She managed to walk off the carpet and on to the “shiny” floor amid cheers of encouragement and success. Later, when shown the video, she was asked what she thinking as she moved away from the carpet. Her response was an unexpected. “All I was thinking about was getting across to the store to buy a CD for my mother!”

Aside from the video modeling, other assistive devices are used in the classroom to help students achieve their IEP goals. For job skills, one of the most common devices used both in the classroom and on the job is a “jig.” A “jig” is some sort of model, guide, or organizer that assists the student in completing the task. However, it is up to the student to express the need for the assistive device. While job coaches supervise at the work site, if the student needs something to help them be successful it is up to the student to express that need and to work with the coach to develop a solution to address that need. For many students this is a new experience. In the past, the teacher or classroom aide typically developed a solution to a problem. This process allows the students to develop a sense of self-advocacy with less dependence on others in expressing needs.

As students attending the Adult Transition Academy become more independent, they are encouraged to develop living skills that help move them on to independent living. When mistakes are made in cooking, they are asked to determine what went wrong. A group discussion not only gets them thinking about possible explanations, but also shows that others may value their opinions or input on an issue. Again, something they may not have had a lot of opportunity in the past.

Students use the computer lab to develop their Individual Learning Plans (IEPs), their personal portfolios, and edit their video modeling DVDs.