Preparing for Life Beyond High School

SELF-DETERMINATION Achieved Making Progress Emerging Strengths, Preferences, The student is provided with Parents listen and provide Interests, and Needs (SPINs) opportunities across a range of opportunities for their The student has a clear situations that require critical son/daughter to explore and to understanding and ownership of thinking and writing skills become aware of SPINs their strengths, the things they concerning the students are interested in, and the areas individual SPINs which are that they have difficulties. embedded within high school curriculum.

A vision for the future: There is Person-Centered Planning Parents wish to explore the strong evidence that the student processes identifies college as a possibility of their son/daughter wants to go to college. dream, ideal goal, and interest of going to college. the student.

Self-Determination Skills: The Self-determination skills are Parents acknowledge and discuss student has well developed skills embedded, directly taught and within the IEP team their need in problem-solving, choice assessed within all areas of high and opportunity for their making, decision, making, goal school curriculum. son/daughter to self-determine. setting, self-regulation, goal attainment, self-advocacy, self- awareness, and self-efficacy.

Taking Risks: The student has The student is assessed and Parents recognize “the dignity of achieved competence in using a instructed across a range of risk” and promote age framework for good judgment. situations that require using appropriate opportunities. The good judgment to ensure their individual is allowed to safety and well being. Students experience the natural are given opportunities to consequences of decisions critically reflect on the natural he/she has made. consequences of those decisions.

Self-Knowledge: The student The student is provided with a The nature and implications of understands his/her disability range of opportunities to gain their son/daughter’s disabilities and can speak to his/her insight and discuss their abilities as it changes over time and disability and its implications. and support needs through the across situations is recognized IEP process and in coursework. and discussed.

Self-Confidence: Student is able The student is provided with Parents provide opportunities to express feelings of self-worth opportunities to increase self- within the home environment to and can accept and give awareness and confidence increase a true sense of self- criticism. within multiple settings and confidence and self-esteem. environments.

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Motivation: There is strong The student is provided with Parents provide an environment evidence that the student is self- opportunities and positive that gives positive reinforcement motivated and strives to try and reinforcement within the and appropriate conditions for to learn to the best of his/her educational environment to learning and self-motivation to abilities. Student shows the increase internal motivational develop. desire and actions to work skills. towards personal goals.

SELF-ADVOCACY Achieved Making Progress Emerging Strong Sense of Being: The The student’s education is Parents listen and encourage student clearly advocates for designed to provide them with their children to speak for his/her wish and desires. opportunities to use their voice themselves and provide to speak up for themselves. opportunities that allow the son/daughter to explore those desires. Advocating for One Self: The Direct instruction in identifying Parents enable their student can direct others to and communicating about ones son/daughter to advocate for provide him/her with learning, physical, and independence. accommodations and support. social/emotional needs.

Advocating for Other: The Opportunities for leadership Parents identify leadership role student demonstrates skills in roles in classroom, school and for their son/daughter within the learning about the needs of classroom. family or community. others and acting on their behalf.

Active Listening Skills: The Active listening skills are Parents encourage their student demonstrates strong embedded, directly taught and son/daughter to practice or abilities to look at the person assessed within high school demonstrate the ability to shake who is speaking, can ask curriculum or work hands with a firm grip and to appropriate questions related to opportunities. look into the other person’s eyes topic of discussion, allows the when introducing self. The other person to speak without parent encourages their interrupting, and in some son/daughter to ask appropriate circumstances is able to take questions of others and to listen notes. attentively for responses.

Negotiation and Compromise: The student is provided with a Parents allow son/daughter to The student understands that range of opportunities to expand practice negotiation and effective communication skills communication skills to include compromise skills while include abilities to negotiate and the abilities of being able to give providing appropriate to compromise when needed. and take when learning or boundaries for in order to There is strong evidence that the working along side others. understand the difference student is demonstrates these between negotiation and skills when applicable. argument.

Knowing Ones Right: The The student curriculum reflects Parents support their student demonstrates components of disability culture son’s/daughter’s involvement to knowledge of his/her rights and and provides direct instruction in direct the development and social responsibilities. his or her rights as an American implementation of his/her IEP. with a Disability.

ACADEMIC SKILLS Achieved Making Progress Emerging Use computers: The student can The student curriculum reflects Parents support/provide their effectively use computers to the use of computer apps (word, student with access to a collect, organize, and power point, publishing) to computer, and provide communicate information and complete assignments and opportunities for student to idea. The student can effectively projects. This includes teaching practice and utilize computer use tools found in Microsoft and increasing typing skills. Word and Power Point. proficiencies. Students in CCS require an IPad that is used to manage coursework and daily activities.

Communication: Able to Opportunities to improve and The importance of learning to communicate ideas and use communication skills are communicate and to explore information to various audiences embedded in curriculum. personal thoughts and ideas and and purposes. to have someone hear and validate thinking processes is important.

Write: The student can write Writing skills are maximized Parents provide opportunities using appropriate forms, through curriculum and for their son/daughter to conventions, and styles to assignments that increase critical communicate through writing communicate ideas and thinking skills through self- ideas, lists, or family plans that information. reflection practices. allow for practice to critically think and organize thoughts.

Time Management: Student is Performance of time Parents support/provide their able to manage time, through management skills are son/daughter with appropriate using a watch or other devise, so incorporated into all coursework tools or devises and increased that he/she can independently and activities. If necessary opportunities to practice time arrive to destinations on time. accommodations or time management skills. management tools are made available and the student is given instruction on how use

Organizational Skills: Student is Performance and accountability Parents expect and hold their able to organize and manage of organizational skills are son/daughter responsible for course materials and incorporated into all coursework keeping their room and assignments. and activities. belongings organized.

Personal-Social Skills Respect Others Boundaries: The student’s education is Parents provide consistent Students demonstrate respect designed to provide them with guidelines to help student to for the rights and properties of opportunities to recognize and understand respecting others’ others. maintain healthy boundaries. boundaries.

Appropriate Public Behavior: Curriculum addresses social Parents provide guidelines for Students demonstrate proper etiquette and appropriate social appropriate public behaviors behavior and etiquette in public behaviors. Understanding the according to age appropriate areas. characteristics of others, how to expectations. Parents provide react in various situations, how opportunities for their to form and maintain social son/daughter to develop relationships, dating, and eating adequate coping skills and how out are examples of coping to appropriately react in various behaviors. situations. Examples of coping behaviors include: how to form and maintain social relationships, dating, and eating out. Independent Living Skills Achieved Making Progress Emerging Exhibit proper grooming and Curriculum and activities The importance of proper hygiene: Student is responsible increase student understand grooming and hygiene is for the care of personal bodily how the lack of competency in discussed and promoted with needs. these areas creates problems of their son/daughter, with the acceptance and adjustment – student becoming responsible social acceptance. for personal care. Buying and Caring for Clothing: IEP goals reflect activities that Parents provide instruction on Students are responsible for advance knowledge and skills in how to purchase appropriate personal laundry and clothing buy and caring for personal clothing and how to clean, press, needs. needs. and do minor repairs (sew on buttons). Mobility: The student is able to Performance of mobility skills Understanding basic traffic and demonstrate knowledge of are maximized through safety rules is discussed and traffic rules and safety curriculum and IEP goals. practiced with son/daughter in independently. order to promote more independence in mobility. Mobility: Student demonstrates Performance of mobility skills Parents provide opportunities knowledge and use of various are maximized through for son/daughter to explore and means of transportation and are curriculum and IEP goals. use various transportations to able to find way around the navigate around their community. community. Awareness of Surroundings: The student is provided with The importance of being aware Students are alert and aware of opportunities to increase of one’s surroundings not only immediate surroundings. awareness in various settings prevents one from possible He/she can make sense of and environments and is given unsafe events, but also creates observations, and can make guidance on how to interpret opportunities for increased or sense of what they hear. what is seen or heard. improved interactions with the

environment and others. Wearing ear buds, listening to music, texting, while walking or being transported are examples of things that prevent one from connecting to surroundings.

Health Needs: Student is able to The student curriculum reflects Parents increase responsibilities take medications independently, the importance of health and of son/daughter to manage refill prescriptions, and wellness, including managing medications, prescriptions, demonstrates knowledge of personal health needs, making doctors’ appointments, common illness, prevention and understanding common joining health clubs. treatment. illnesses, and sex education. Safety: Student demonstrates a The student’s education is Parent monitors their safe internet and technology designed to identify safe and son/daughter’s use of practice that prohibits responsible use of technology in technology and provides opportunities for someone to order to recognize the consistent expectations for take advantage of him/her. advantages and disadvantages of responsible behaviors. world-wide exposure. Citizenship: Student The student’s education is Parents provide positive demonstrates knowledge of civil designed to understand the instruction and examples of the rights and responsibilities. nature of local, state, and federal laws and how the law is there to governments. protect.

Engaging in Leisure: Student is Opportunities are provided Parents provide a broad range of able to demonstrate knowledge through curriculum and activities opportunities in order for of available community for student to advance skills in son/daughter to be able to make resources and engages in group identified leisure preferences an informed decision on types of and/or individual activities. and interests. leisure activities preferred.

Employment Know & Explore Occupational The student’s education is Parents understand the Possibilities: The student has designed so that the student important role that employment broadened his/her perspective recognizes personal values met has for quality of life for their of the world of work through through work, societal values son/daughter and maintain high research and employment met through work, and is able to expectations that their exploration. investigate local occupational son/daughter will work in some and training opportunities. capacity. Selecting and Planning Curriculum and activities guide Parents frequently discuss with Occupational Choices: The student to become more aware their son/daughter of a broad student is aware of how SPINs of their specific abilities, interest, range of occupational choices. relate to their future life work. and needs, and how these relate The student is encouraged to to their future life work. explore work interests while at Concentrated and periodic the same time developing an vocational evaluation and understanding of individual guidance are needed so that strengths, preferences, interests, student will gain sufficient and needs.

information about themselves and their occupational options.

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