Organizational Strategic Planning Using PATH

2nd Annual Interagency Transition Conference Organizational Strategic Planning using PATH

Step 1: North Star (e.g., 5 years out) What is the organization’s/interagency team’s dream? To begin making a plan for the future, a team must first create a vision for their work and establish the outcomes that they would like to see come to fruition. First, ask “What are the Evidence-Based or Promising Practice in Secondary Transition?” Second, given the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, local interagency teams should consider outcomes such as employment, post-secondary education, and independent living. However, those are not the only outcomes to consider. When thinking about creating preparatory programs that will enhance the outcomes of youth, consideration should also be paid to things like helping youth to build social capital, helping them to form meaningful support networks, and connecting them to local resources. To create meaningful programs that are responsive to the needs of youth, interagency transition team members need to understand what each young adult would like their life to look like after high school. Your job as an interagency team is to develop an actionable plan that will create tangible experiences for the student that will set them on a track to achieving their dreams.

As your team is brainstorming your North Star goals, it would be important refer to the mission, vision, and values of your team. List of North Star Goals…. 1. Project Search Implementation 2. With assistance of Vocational Rehabilitation, 75% of all Junior and Senior diploma and non-diploma students with disabilities will participate in a paid work experience. 3. All students 13 and older will exhibit autonomy and self-determination by self-directed IEP meetings. 4. 5. *Feel free to add more than 5 dreams…

Step 2: Generating a Vision of a Positive Possible Future (e.g., 1 year out/End of School Year 2016)

* 1 | P a g e What needs to happen within the next year to make the long-term dream a reality? PATH planning is a backwards-planning, but forward-thinking, process. This means that you initially start by mapping out long-terms goals but you gradually break those goals down into steps that are closer and closer to the present. As such, after you have helped elicit the transition team’s dreams (approximately 5 years out), you need to set some benchmarks to achieve along the way. A good place to start is one year from today. As you start mapping out this section, continue to ask: “If the team wants to achieve mastery of North Star Goals in five years, where do we need to be in one year?”

Not only do you need to break down the dreams into benchmarks, the idea is to assign responsibilities to the individual team members and, as a group, hold the team members accountable for their commitments to supporting the achievement of the identified dreams. There is not a concrete list of people that should be involved in the PATH process. Invite people into the process who are willing to be positive change agents. As you sit and create this plan, think about what you and your current team members can accomplish. It is wonderful to set lofty goals, but also take the time to set goals you know and are committed to accomplishing. Take the time to include visionaries as well as worker bees in the PATH planning process.

DATE TO BE CHECK WHEN 1 Year Benchmark RESPONSIBLE TEAM MEMBER(s) COMPLETED COMPLETED 1. 15% of all junior and senior diploma and non-diploma track Ray Alexander, Lori Covington, Kathy 5/16 students will be at work sites for paid work experiences Brannon, Alice Porter, Syreeta Henderson, Loretta Alexander, Mica Duncan, all junior and senior Special Ed. Teachers 2. Students will know their accommodations and have self-advocacy Erica Powell, Kathy Brannon 5/16 skills in order to speak up for themselves. 3. Visit site based opportunities to witness Project Search. Kathy Brannon, Ray Alexander, Lori 5/16 Covington, Alice Porter, Melissa Dixon 4. 5. *Feel free to add more than 5 benchmarks…

Step 3: Identifying how things currently operate NOW Planning for the future requires that the reality of the current situation be taken into account. Taking a look at the reality of now should be viewed as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to identify, praise, and capitalize on the things that are going well and it is an opportunity to change the things that are or could become a barrier to the DREAM.

The reality now… The district has a Transition Specialist to facilitate coordination of transition activities and experiences. The district has a Job Coach who accompanies students to community-based job sites, assesses and provides job skills training, utilizes a transition curriculum with students (Project Discovery), and implements school-based training opportunities such as maintaining the clothes closet, assisting with the potato bar and facilitating on-site job shadowing.

* 2 | P a g e The district has a Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, and Secondary Coordinator for Special Education. Special Education teachers report to these coordinators for increased levels of accountability, oversight and compliance. The high schools have access to a van for transporting students to community-based jobs. Vocational Rehabilitation provides guidepost activities, internships, transportation for work experiences and post-secondary visits to college campuses, guest speakers, and transition workshops for Cherokee County students. A minimum of 4 of the 7 school periods are devoted to vocational training activities for high school students in special classes. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs works closely with school-age students to provide individual case management services. DDSN is currently providing job training skills during a day program for the18-21 aged ID students receiving other post-secondary services in the Cherokee County School system. Students in special classes who attend the Cherokee Technology Center and the Ola H. Copeland Community Learning Center participate in PAES labs, specialized vocational training activities, and the coffee shop school-based work opportunities. Able SC conducts monthly transition activities with the high school students.

*Add as many descriptors of the reality of now as are needed…

Step 4: Who needs to be ENROLLED? As stated by O’Brien, Pearpoint, and Kahn (2012): “No movement toward a positive future can happen without people’s commitment. Once the team has heard and seen the direction of the journey indicated by the tension between the Now and the North Star, it is time to test the team’s desire to commit to the journey. It is also time to recognize people who are not in the meeting whose investment in the journey is either necessary or would make a positive difference” (p. 78).

Given each team’s goals, dreams, and current reality, there are likely some people, organizations and/or tangible goods that need to be invited/enrolled to be a part of the plan to help the team achieve the outlined objectives.

For example, some considerations might be: Is there a seamless way that students with I/DD are connected to Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs? If no, who needs to be enrolled to make sure that connection is made? Are students connected with assistive technology resources at school and in the community to help him/her become more independent? If no, who needs to be consulted about this? Do students have transportation? If no, what resources would the student and his/her family need to make that happen (e.g., money for drivers education, knowledge on how to ask for accommodations while taking the test)? Who can help the student and their family navigate that process? Are there local employers in the community that need to be invited into the planning process?

Who/What needs to be enrolled? RESPONSIBLE TEAM MEMBER(s) DATE TO BE CHECK WHEN

* 3 | P a g e COMPLETED COMPLETED

Director of Special Services Transition Specialist LEA/Secondary Coordinator Superintendent of Cherokee County Schools Transition Specialist LEA/Secondary Coordinator Vocational Rehabilitation - Business Development Specialist, VR Case Transition Specialist Managers, Job Coach VR Case Manager – Mica Duncan

VR Case Manager – Ray Alexander Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Transition Specialist VR Case Manager – Mica Duncan

VR Case Manager – Ray Alexander Cherokee County Rotary Club Transition Specialist VR Business Development Specialist Department of Disabilities and Special Needs – Director, Case Managers, Transition Specialist and Day Program Manager and Coordinator, Job Coach DDSN – Syreeta Henderson DDSN – Loretta Alexander DDSN – Lori Covington DDSN Program Manager – Rushel Ivey Parents Transition Specialist VR Case Managers DDSN Case Managers Special Education Teachers LEA/Secondary Coordinator School District Personnel – LEA/Secondary Coordinator, Transition Transition Specialist Specialist, Special Education Teacher, General Education Teacher, School Special Education Teachers Administrator, Guidance Counselor, Job Coach LEA/Secondary Coordinator Students Transition Specialist VR Case Managers DDSN Case Managers Special Education Teachers General Education Teachers Job Coach LEA/Secondary Coordinator Employers Transition Specialist VR Case Managers * 4 | P a g e DDSN Case Managers Job Coach *Feel free to add more than 5 people, organizations, or things that need to be enrolled…

Step 5: Build on the group’s STRENGTHS PATH planning is a strengths-based planning process that seeks to create a positive possible future. Everyone, no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you look like, has strengths and abilities. PATH is a process that tries to capture and build upon the strengths of both the individual and the team as a whole. Strengths come in a variety of forms and fashions and frankly, the list is endless, but some strengths to consider are the abilities of the people enrolled in this process (e.g., is a good networker, has the authority to make decisions), the character qualities that can aid the process (e.g., proactive, timely, dedicated, knows lots of people in the community, funny, willing to talk to anyone), and resources that are available (e.g., knows an employer that is looking to hire, has a car and is willing to provide transportation, willing to donate a uniform, scholarship for summer activities), etc. As described by O’Brien, Pearpoint, and Kahn (2012): “The point of this step is to orient the planning circle to the asset they can put to work and the relationship, knowledge, and skills they will need to development” (p. 80).

Ability, Quality, Resource, Asset, Knowledge, etc. that could be important to the planning process… Bi-Annual Transition Council Meetings for collaboration between community agencies and the school district Invested in outcomes of students Pro-active Good foundation to work from Interagency support Willingness to learn Open to change Desire to improve Know students are #1 priority Able SC involvement with the schools/district Communicating transition events through mailings, phone calls, face-to-face, through students, flyers, brochures, etc. Seniors lead their own IEP meetings

*There should be many strengths listed…

Step 6: Identify 6 month GOALS (e.g. January/February/March 2016) As previously mentioned, PATH is a backward planning process, with each step moving closer and closer to the NOW. Above, the team’s 5-year dreams, as well as the 1-year goals, should be established. It’s now time to take some baby steps to make that happen. As such, given where the team wants to be one year from now, and five years after that, what has to have happened by January/February/March 2016?

* 5 | P a g e DATE TO BE CHECK WHEN TASKS RESPONSIBLE TEAM MEMBER(s) COMPLETED COMPLETED

Have 7% of all Jr. and Sr. diploma and Kathy Brannon, Ray Alexander, Syreeta Henderson, Lori Covington, all Junior 2/16 non-diploma track students and Senior Special Ed. Teachers, Mica Duncan, Loretta Alexander participating in a paid work experience Students will meet with SC Able (6) Erica Powell, Kathy Brannon 2/16 times and discuss self-advocacy and work with IEP accommodations Begin researching financial Kathy Brannon, Ray Alexander, Alice Porter, Lori Covington, Melissa Dixon 2/16 requirements, grants, and program details for implementing Project Search.

*Feel free to add more than 5 goals…

Step 7: Identify 1 month GOALS Given where the team wants to be in January/February 2016, 1 year, and 5 years from now, what needs to happen within the next month to set that process in motion? DATE TO BE CHECK WHEN TASKS RESPONSIBLE TEAM MEMBER(s) COMPLETED COMPLETED SC Able will have visited (2) times to work with students on self-advocacy Erica Powell, Kathy Brannon 11/15 Establish a team (DDSN, CCSD, VR) to establish paid job sites for work Ray Alexander, Kathy Brannon, Lori 11/15 based experiences Covington, Syreeta Henderson, Alice Porter, Mica Duncan, Loretta Alexander Develop a team for Project Search. Kathy Brannon, Ray Alexander, Lori 11/15 Covington, Alice Porter, Melissa Dixon

*Feel free to add more than 5 one-month goals…

Step 8: Identify your 1st STEPS Given where the team wants to be 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years from now, what needs to happen within the next couple of days to set that process in motion? TASKS RESPONSIBLE TEAM MEMBER(s) DATE TO BE CHECK WHEN * 6 | P a g e COMPLETED COMPLETED 1. Develop teams Kathy Brannon 10/1 2. Set up meeting date for work based experiences Kathy Brannon 10/1 3. 4. 5. *Feel free to add more than 5 first steps…

References: This document was adapted from O’Brien, J., Pearpoint, J., & Kahn, L. (2014). The PATH & MAPS Handbook: Person-Centered Ways to Build Community. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Inclusion Press

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