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District review recommends expanding community‑based transition services for post‑graduate students
Summary
An internal review of the district’s post‑graduate (up to age 22) program recommended shifting to a day structure that includes 50% community‑based vocational exposure, 25% functional academics, and 25% fitness/leisure/personal‑health; the director proposed phased implementation and additional community partnerships and staffing funded in part by a 240 special‑education grant.
Jennifer Healey, director of pupil services, presented an internal program review of the district’s post‑graduate program for students up to age 22, laying out a phased plan to increase community engagement, vocational training and individualized transition planning.
"The largest question here is how can we better prepare our students for life after 22?" Healey asked the committee, and then outlined program strengths (a large classroom with a kitchen and courtyard, staff commitment, current school‑based jobs such as a Hump Day Cafe and food‑pantry assistance) and barriers (students spanning a wide age range, limited flexibility under the high‑school rotating schedule, and transportation staffing).
Her recommended model would allocate roughly half the school day to community‑based vocational placements and exposure, 25% to functional academics aligned to real‑world tasks, and 25% to fitness, leisure and personal‑health instruction. Phase‑one priorities include securing 5–10 new community partners, piloting increased community outings in September, and using a special‑education 240 grant to fund an additional educational support professional (ESP) if needed.
Healey said the program currently serves eight students (11th grade through age 22) and emphasized small‑scale piloting: "We have eight students currently but that is 11th to 22." Committee members encouraged collecting baseline outcome data and flagged existing partnerships (Project Forward at Cape Cod Community College and local employers) as models to expand.
No formal vote was required at the meeting; Healey said she would share a community partner survey with committee members and return with implementation updates and metrics for the board to review.
