Learning Curve
Clearing A Path to Transition
Posted on May 23, 2024, by GAPMP
Meet Jennifer Brown from Monroe County
Jennifer began working on an idea to offer families easy, well curated information on transition for about a year before the roll out of her “Roadmap for the Future” initiative was launched. Here are some details she shared about this work so other districts could create a similar tool.
Roadmap for the Future is an amalgamation of what Parent to Parent of Georgia and the Houston County Transition Academy are doing. Much of the framework comes from Houston County’s “Planning For Your Future” website (with the expressed permission of Houston County’s Transition Coordinator Brandi Mauney).
The site for Monroe County has been retrofitted to reflect specific resources to our County/region as well as statewide resources. The goal is to continue to add more specific pages. The subject matter of the Roadmap for the Future and the coming pages is a direct reflection of the information that parents and teachers are needing. I have so many parents ask for a more compiled checklist of important tasks to complete based on their child’s age and/or stage in life.
While I compiled the information and designed the page, the end result was heavily guided and reviewed by MC Schools Special Education Director, Jenny Rooks as well as Special Education Coordinator, Christie Johnston. Additionally, the site has been reviewed and tested for OCR compliance by MC Schools Communications Coordinator, Kari Buckindail.
The project is in its first stages of rollout in that it has only been promoted/marketed on social media. I have included it in my newsletter that has just been released. I am relying on feedback from not only parents but teachers when we start heavily marketing in the new 2024-2025 school year. I plan to unveil the site in detail at a meeting with In School Coordinators. Additionally, I have had business cards printed that introduce the page and have a QR Code that links to the site. This will be given out to teachers, parents and the community at every event.
This site did not serve as a replacement but rather as a much needed addition. It lives as a part of the Department of Instructional Student Support page within the Monroe County Schools District site.
I have the privilege of being a part of my district’s technology team; therefore, I have the skills and access to create a webpage from scratch. I would advise other district Parent Mentors to work with their transition teams and technology departments to create something similar.
Here is the link: https://www.monroe.k12.ga.us/o/mcs/page/roadmap-for-the-future