Continue Your Education
How Does School Help Me Prepare for a Job?
In Ohio, the focus of your high school program moves to helping you prepare for life in the community. This is referred to as “transition”. The last years of your high school experience are spent building skills and exploring options in 3 areas:
- Community employment,
- Education or training after high school, and
- Independent living.
Goals related to these areas are included in your Individualized Education Program.
Community Employment means helping you explore careers and building skills needed to be successful in the workplace.
Education or training after high school refers to exploring the possibility of continuing your education at a 2 or 4 year college or obtaining the training needed to do a certain job. Examples of this are CPR certification or food safety courses to work in a restaurant or food service.
Independent living skills are those you need to navigate the adult world on your own. They include being able to budget your money, cook meals for yourself, do your own laundry, and finding transportation.
IEP stands for Individualized Education Program, and it is the plan that determines what classes, experiences and supports you will receive to be able to reach your post-school goals. It is important to know that the IEP is all about you, and you should have a say in what your plan is. Don’t be afraid to speak up during your IEP meetings if there are things you don’t understand about your plan.
Lead Your IEP Meeting
Speak up in your IEP meetings to set goals for employment.
Your IEP should contain goals related to helping you prepare for employment. This might mean classes that help you build needed work skills, opportunities to practice working both in school and in the community, and getting you connected with programs that can help you such as OOD. During your last year of high school, you should have opportunities to try many different types of jobs and have a good idea of the type of work you want to try first after graduation.
Activity
It is important that you understand how your IEP is helping you prepare for employment and life after high school. Ask your IEP team lead for the answers to the following questions:
- How is my IEP helping me prepare for community employment?
- How are my strengths and interests reflected in the IEP?
- How will my IEP help me explore jobs and get work experiences?
- How is my IEP helping me explore education and training after high school?
- What employment supports can I consider using after high school?
- What can I do to be an active participant in my IEP process?
Discuss the answers with your family and IEP team lead to see if there are any changes that need to be made to your IEP goals.