We all know it’s getting time for school to resume for students when we begin hearing the words “school supplies, stock up, deals for the entire family, uniforms and backpacks”, on television commercials. Perhaps you are amidst the frenzy now, preparing your children for another year of learning. Or perhaps you are enjoying the last weeks of summer on a vacation with your family or friends. Wherever you may be, if you are a Transition Provider or Professional, now is also the time for you to check your resources and get geared up!
For starters, your “to do list” should at the very least include these 2 things:
- Join the National Transition Summit Google Group. At the 2015 AFB Leadership Conference the National Transition Summit was formed. The summit consists of professionals providing Transition Services to students who are blind or visually impaired from across the fifty states and even the country of New Zealand! A Google Group was recently created to facilitate sharing of innovative ideas and resources, problem solving and support amongst the summit members. A conference call for members of the National Transition Summit to collaborate will be scheduled in the Fall. Get involved now by contacting Alicia to join the group.
- Complete AFB’s CareerConnect Survey: Transition Services for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired; a Closer Look Nationwide. The current National Transition Summit members requested a survey be sent out to collect data on current Transition Programs, funding resources and the needs of providers of Transition Services to teens who are blind or visually impaired. The data will be shared with members of the National Transition Summit. I encourage you to take a few minutes to contribute information about your Transition Program. The more we share with one another, the more we learn from one another, right?
To “Summit Up” now is the time to empower yourself as a professional by collaborating with your colleagues to bring innovative and effective instruction to our transitioning teens which will give them the skills they need to be ready for employment, college or tech school and living independently. Working together we can bring about the change and difference needed in the area of employment for our youth with vision loss. Can your colleagues count on you? If so, your “to do list” should have two less tasks on it.