Project TASSEL Final Report
Department of Teaching Specialties
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
1995-1998
Submitted by David Test and Jill Solow
Department of Teaching Specialties
Charlotte, NC 28223
704-547-2531
Contact Dr. David Test or Jill Solow for more information at tassel@email.uncc.edu
I. PROJECT SUMMARY (YEAR THREE)
The purpose of the TASSEL Outreach Project was to provide training, technical assistance,product development, and dissemination to secondary-level transition programs seeking to assist youth with disabilities in the transition from secondary school to postsecondary environments. Areas such as competitive or supported employment, independent/semi-independent living in the community, and postsecondary education are addressed. The Project provided secondary education and transition services that resulted in meaningful inclusion as community members.
To achieve this outcome, we provided training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities needed to replicate TASSEL (Teaching All Students Skills for Employment and Life). TASSEL is the name of the comprehensive array of transition services developed and offered through the coordinated efforts of the Shelby City and Cleveland County, NC school systems. The TASSEL model centers around effective transition planning supported by assessment of student skills, abilities and interest, interagency collaboration, and appropriate school experiences for meeting postsecondary goals. Students receiving special education services at the secondary level can pursue either an academic course of study or an occupational course of study based on their desired post-school outcomes. Students who are going to pursue postsecondary education can choose the academic course of study where successful completion results in receiving an NC academic diploma. Students with disabilities who choose and successfully complete the occupational course-of-study, receive a locally-sanctioned occupational diploma. Students who do not successfully complete either course of study are eligible for either a "Graduation Certificate" of a Certificate of Achievement."
As a multi-district outreach project, the TASSEL Outreach Project provided training, technical assistance, and dissemination nationwide. To do so, activities and goals in five major areas were implemented: (1) Public Awareness, (2) Replication and Technical Assistance, (3) Site Development, (4) Product Development and Dissemination, and (5) Evaluation.
This document serves as both a summary of the Third (and final) year of the TASSEL Outreach Project, but also as the final report. As such Sections I and II include summaries of Year Three and Section III contains the final report documenting outcomes from Years One - Three (1995-1998).
Three Year highlights included:
Public Awareness
• Articles appeared in the following publications;
(1) South Carolina DD Frontline Newsletter
(2) Bridges, A Newsletter from NC Transition Council
(3) VOICE
(4) The Oxford, Mississippi Eagle Daily News
(5) UNC Charlotte, Common Knowledge
Replication Sites
• Established two new replication sites in (1) Greenville County Schools, Greenville, South Carolina, (2) Macon County Schools, Lafayette, Tennessee
bringing the total number of replication sites to seven. (Year One sites included Lexington 2 Schools, Columbia, South Carolina, Aiken County Schools, Aiken, South Carolina, Sumter County Schools, Livingston, Alabama, and Forrest County Schools, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, (however, Forrest County Schools are no longer interested in receiving support). Year two sites included (1) Newberry County Schools, Newberry, South Carolina, and (2) Oxford School District, Oxford, Mississippi).
• Assisted Darlington County Schools with the adoption of an Occupational Diploma by inviting them to training and technical assistance sessions at replication sites close to Darlington County. Because Darling County requested assistance late in the final year of the grant we could not include them as a replication site.
Presentations
(1) DCDT International Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona, October, 1997
(2) NTA Annual Project Director’s Meeting, Washington, DC, June, 1998
(3) APSE Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July, 1998
• Offered on-site visits to TASSEL home site in Shelby City/Cleveland County Schools on:
(1) October 24, 1997
(2) March 19-20, 1998, Special Education Directors, Transition Coordinators, and teachers from Oxford, Mississippi, Lexington 2, West Columbia, South Carolina, Darlington County School District, Darlington, South Carolina, Richland 1, Columbia, South Carolina and several representatives from LEAs in North Carolina.
Dissemination
(1) Revised TASSEL Handbook
(2 )Updated TASSEL video
(3) Revised Resource List (See Appendix J)
(4) Updated TASSEL Home Page http://www. uncc.edu/tassel/
(Results of TASSEL Home Page evaluation can be found in Appendix D).
• Developed presentation packages using Power Point on::
(1) Writing Effective ITPs
(2) How to Present the Occupational Diploma to Local School Boards
(3) Evaluating Your Transition Program
(4) Community-Based Instruction
• Articles:
(1) Aspel, N, Bettis, G. Test, D.W. & Wood, W. M. (1998). An evaluation of a comprehensive system of transition services. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 21, 203-223.
(2) Aspel, N., Bettis, G., Quinn, P., Test, D.W., & Wood, W., M. (in press). A collaborative process for planning transition services for all students with disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Children.
(3) Information about TASSEL appeared in the following text: A., Turnbull, R., Turnbull, Leal, D., & Shank, M. Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools, (2nd ed.), Publishing Company, 1999.
Evaluation
(1) Conducted final Transition Needs Assessment and updated "Community Profile" for all sites ( including yearly objectives and numbers of students receiving various vocational and community-based training services). (Appendix F)
(2) Evaluated consumer satisfaction with services provided through the TASSEL home-site. (Appendix H)
(3) Evaluated presentations and products disseminated. (Appendix I)
(4) Evaluated consumer satisfaction at all sites. See Community Profiles in Appendix F.
II. PROJECT STATUS
Goal 1: Public Awareness Objective ( original page numbers 4-6)
1:1 The Project Coordinator will develop and distribute a Project brochure.
During Year Three, the project brochure was disseminated to over 160 school districts and 200 individuals. (See Appendix A)
1.2 The Project Coordinator, with assistance from the Project Director, will write press releases to news media, newspapers, radio, and television, regarding the availability of the Project and availability of Project staff for the interview and other presentation.
Completed during Year One.
1.3
Articles about TASSEL appeared in South Carolina’s DD Frontline, VOICE, UNC Charlotte’s Common Knowledge, Bridges, a Newsletter of the North Carolina Transition Council, and The Oxford Eagle. (See Appendix B for copies of articles).
1.4 The Project Coordinator will develop announcements for information sharing via on-line computer networks (e.g., the Internet and SpecialNet). Product dissemination will be available through the Internet via E-mail, LISTSERV, and Gopher.
During Year One a Home Page was established and advertised in our brochure. During Year Two the Home Page was updated and revised to make it more user friendly. During Year Three the Home Page was evaluated for content and usability and updated as current information became available. The current Home Page includes vitae of all Project Staff, Project Announcements, Most Asked Questions and Answers About the TASSEL Transition Model, an Annotated Bibliography for Teaching Functional Life Skills, a Transition Program Evaluation/Assessment, and a table of contents for the TASSEL Handbook. The Home Page address is: (www.uncc.edu/tassel/) To date, the Home Page has had 1,516 "hits". Appendix C includes copies from the first page of each section of the TASSEL Web Site and Appendix D contains a summary of results from the Home Page evaluation.
1.5 The Project Coordinator will establish and advertise a TASSEL E-mail address on the Internet accessible to all commercially available on-line network users through their common access to the Internet. This E-Mail address will serve as a "hotline" for schools.
A TASSEL E-mail "hotline" is still in service (tassel@unccvm.uncc.edu). The E-mail address has been advertised in the brochure and other project information sent out as requested. To date, 15 individuals have requested information. The Project is also connected to the TriTalk and School to Work listservs.
1.6 The Project will correspond with each state’s Lead Agencies.
Completed during Year One.
1.7 The Project Coordinator will provide information to state presidents of appropriate professional organizations (e.g., TASH, CEC, DLD, APSE, AAMR, NADDPD, NAMHPD, NRA, IAPSRS) about the project.
Since other recruitment methods such as presentations, word of mouth, Web Site and E-mail were successful, this proposed strategy has not been initiated.
1.8 The Project Coordinator will correspond with the appropriate publicinterest, advocacy, or parent organizations (e.g., United Cerebral Palsy Associations (UCPA), National Head Injury Foundation (NHIF), the ARC, the Autism Society of America, Exceptional Children’s Advocacy Council, and other parent information and training centers, (ACLD).
During Year One information was sent to the New Jersey UCP and the ARCs in New Jersey, North Carolina, and Texas as requested. During Year Two, no information was requested or sent. During Year Three information was sent to the ARCs in Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina.
1.9 The Project Coordinator will advertise the Project through Regional Resource Center Programs.
Completed during Year One. Each Regional Resource Center has copies of all dissemination materials
1.10 The Project Coordinator will follow-up all inquiries for outreach training, technical assistance, and request for presentations.
See 1.11.
1.11 The Project Coordinator will create and oversee
maintenance of a d-base file of all individuals and agencies requesting information and
will schedule periodic follow-up correspondence.
Appendix E contains the d-base file that has been created with the names, addresses, positions, phone and fax numbers, and dates materials were mailed and a graph was designed showing distributed information based on school districts, states, countries, and people.
1.12 The Project will conduct two on-site open houses at the demonstration site each year ( once each Fall and Spring semester).
Two open houses were conducted, one in October, 1997 and one in March 1998. Administrators, teachers, and transition coordinators from school districts in Oxford, Mississippi, West Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, and several districts in North Carolina attended.
1.13 The Site-based Director will maintain records of on-site visitors and schedule periodic follow-up correspondence.
See 1.12.
1.14 The Project Staff will make presentation at regional
and national conferences of appropriate professional organizations.
1.15 The Project Coordinator will contact University Special Education personnel preparation programs in North and South Carolina regarding the availability of the demonstration site as an internship location.
Not initiated.
1.16 Project Director will include information about the Project in State Transition Grant Newsletters.
An article appeared in North Carolina’s newsletter called Enroute.
1.17 Each site interested in replicating the model will receive a copy of the TASSEL video to be used for intrasystems orientation to the model
During Year Three 137 sites were sent the TASSEL video. (See Appendix E).
Goal 2: Replication and Technical Assistance (original page numbers 6-7)
2.1 The Project Director and Project Coordinator will assist appropriatestate agencies in identifying appropriate sites for replication of TASSEL or its model components.
Four sites for replicating the TASSEL model were selected during Year One (Lexington 2, Columbia, South Carolina; Aiken County Schools, Aiken, South Carolina; Sumter County Schools, Livingston, Alabama; and Forrest County Schools, Hattiesburg, Mississippi). During Year Two three additional sites were identified; Newberry County Schools, Newberry South Carolina; Macon County Schools, Lafayette, Tennessee; and Oxford City Schools, Oxford, Mississippi. During Year Three one additional site in Greenville, South Carolina was added. In addition, we continue to assist the eight schools districts in Alabama participating in a pilot program for the Occupational Diploma program based on the TASSEL Model.
During Year Two we decided to discontinue assistance to Forrest County Schools because (a) site did not provide Project with goals and objectives, (b) phone calls were not returned, and (c) system did not respond to mailed correspondence. As a result, a letter was sent to Forrest County Schools thanking them for their interest in the TASSEL Outreach Project and inviting them to reapply when the timing was more appropriate.
2.2 Project Coordinator and Site-based Project Director will provide information to administrators and project staff at the identified replication sites about the Outreach services available.
Project Coordinator held periodic meetings with administrators and staff in Newberry County Schools , Newberry, South Carolina, Aiken County Schools, Aiken, South Carolina, Lexington School District Two, West Columbia, South Carolina, Oxford School District, Oxford Mississippi, Macon County Schools, Lafayette, Tennessee, and Greenville County Schools, Greenville, South Carolina.
2.3 The Project Director, Project Coordinator, and Site-based Project Director will select replication sites (three per year) using at least the following criteria: Interest in and need for Project services, diversity of sites, priorities of state plans, level of inclusive services, and level of commitment to student choice.
One additional replication site was added the third grant year, Greenville County Schools, Greenville, South Carolina. Assistance was ongoing to all previously selected replication sites. See 2.2
2.4 Project Coordinator will assess training needs of identified programs.
A copy of the Transition Needs Assessment (TNA) was included in the Year One Performance Report. The TNA was again used during Year Three to assist new replication sites with developing annual objectives for their school system. (See Appendix F for update Community Profiles).
2.5 Project Director, Site-based Director, and Project Coordinator will develop cooperative agreements that specify the Outreach Project’s services and responsibilities and the prospective replication site’s responsibilities. At least the following information will be included in this agreement: the number of participants, accommodations at facility (e.g., space, equipment), content to be presented, materials provided by each party, financial contribution of participating site. This objective will be accomplished on the telephone or by arranging a meeting. If the agreement is acceptable to both parties, a formal agreement will be written and signed.
Instead of developing formal agreements or contracts, the TASSEL Outreach Project has developed a "task analysis" for replicating our model. This task analysis serves as our implementation guide and is also used by each replication site when developing their annual objectives. The "task analysis" called Developing an Occupational Diploma Program: Procedures for Replicating the TASSEL Transition Model was included in the Year One Performance Report and has been used with new replication sites during Year Two and Year Three.
2.6 Project Coordinator and Training Assistance or Site-based Project Director will provide two to three days of initial training tailored to the participating site’s identified needs and specific situation at each replication site.
A training needs survey was developed and a schedule for training received by each replication site follows: Project Coordinator met with administrators and staff in Macon County, Lafayette, Tennessee, August 7-8, 1997 and in Greenville County, Greenville, South Carolina, August 27, 1997, and November 26, 1997.
2.7 Project Staff will provide one additional training follow-up contact at each site based on assessed need at the conclusion of the original training period and on the follow-up information collected monthly following training (Spring Semester).
The Project Coordinator provided a variety of services to each replication site including technical assistance, visits, telephone consultation, and mailing information. In addition, during March and April a teleconference linking all sites was piloted. Problems were encountered with telephone conferences because of scheduling conflicts and time zones. (See Appendix G for a complete listing of services provided to each replication site).
2.8 When appropriate Project Staff will (e.g., if funds are available for participant travel from replication site) schedule visits at the TASSEL demonstration site.
See Objective 1.1
2.9 Provided E-mail service as a transition information and referral
See Objectives 1.4 and 1.5
2.10 Distribute a semiannual newsletter via E-mail
(available in paper copy upon request) addressing needs identified via written
inquiries and E-mail.
2.11 Develop "menu" of topics based on written and E-mail requests, as well as, other needs assessments for technical assistance.
TASSEL monographs, as the basis for technical assistance, have been developed for: (1) the TASSEL transition planning process, and (2) developing school and community-based vocational training sites. In addition, based on requests, a Materials/Resource List, Occupational Diploma Competencies, Business Package, and a Job Placement Portfolio have been developed.
2.12 Provide information to administrators and program staff at the identified replication sites about Outreach technical assistance.
As stated in Objective 2.7, the Project Coordinator provided a variety of services to each replication site including technical assistance, site visits, telephone consultation, and mailing information. (See Appendix G for a complete listing of services provided to each replication site).
2.13 Project Staff will provide TASSEL site-based inservice for "transition teams" comprised of at least the following members: special education personnel, regular education personnel, vocationaleducation personnel, and vocational rehabilitation personnel. (Note: Project will provide materials for site-based visits, but will notreimburse travel costs for participants).
Teams from Oxford, MS, Lexington 2, West Columbia, SC, Darlington County, SC visited the TASSEL Home Site for a two day training April 1998.
2.14 Project Staff will provided each year (Fall and Spring semesters) technical assistance at other LEA’s, tailored to the participating site’s identified needs and specific situation, at each of the selected sites. (Note: travel will be paid by host LEA’s)
Project Coordinator presented TASSEL to Gaston County School teachers and Instructional Specialist, to teachers and SPED Director in Clinton, SC and to Greenville County Transition Cooperative.
2.15 The Project Coordinator will provide printed materials and other resources necessary to other LEA’s requesting assistance.
A packet with the following items were sent to 81 LEA’s requesting assistance during Year Three:
• TASSEL Project Overview
• TASSEL Video
• TASSEL Brochure
• TASSEL Model Diagram
• Requirements for Occupational Diploma
• Job Placement Portfolios
• Resource List
• Occupational Diploma Competencies
• Transition Needs Assessment
• Procedures for replicating the TASSEL Model
( See Appendix E for graph of dissemination activities).
2.16 Project staff will provide workshops at state and
national conferences (e.g., CEC, TASH, APSE).
(1) The DCDT International Conference, October, 1997 in Scottsdale, Arizona
(2) The NTA Annual Project Director’s Meeting, Washington, DC, June, 1998
(3) Ninth Annual APSE Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July, 1998
Objective 3: Site Development (original page numbers 7-8)
3.1 The Site-based Project Director and Training Assistant
will continue to expand the array of community-based training settings in the areas of
recreation/leisure, vocational training, self-help/independent living, community resource
utilization, and community living.
More time for Community-Based Training in recreation and leisure was added.
3.2 The Site-based Projector and Training Assistant will continue to involve students and adults with disabilities in the design, implementation, and evaluation of TASSEL using consumer satisfaction surveys and having representation on school and community-level transitions teams.
Annual satisfaction surveys are administered to parents and students (See Appendix H). The results of the surveys are used to make programmatic changes. In addition, students and parents attend school level transition team meetings. There is a parent representative on both the school level and community level teams.
3.3 The Site-based Project Director and Training Assistant will refine coordination between schools, vocational rehabilitation, other adult service agencies, and potential employees.
The community level and school level teams continue to be used to facilitate coordination. Transition staff is involved in Single Portal, JobReady, and WorkFirst which allows the exchange of information.
3.4 The Project Director will continue to collect consumer satisfaction data from all "cooperating" agencies.
Annual satisfaction surveys are administered to all adult services providers, businesses, and school personnel. The results of these surveys are used to make programmatic changes (See Appendix H).
3.5 The Site-based Director and Training Assistant will continue to provide assistance in identifying funding for assistive devices and services by coordination with the Cleveland County "Assistive Technology Team".
The assistive technology team obtained four high-tech devices for students last year. Numerous low-tech talking devices and switches were obtained. The Assistive Technology Team is fully rostered now with Shelby High School. Shelby City is also serving as a field test site for the VR buyback program.
3.6 The Site-based Director, Training Assistant, and Project Coordinator will continue to provide personnel involved with TASSEL on-going training/staff development opportunities to insure the highest level of competence.
All staff have been involved in in-house training sessions designed to improve areas of the program such as job coaching, functional academics, behaviormanagement, and student evaluation. Several staff members have received training at off-campus sites through workshops and conferences.
3.7 Project Staff will continue to utilize within the activities of TASSEL, a wide variety of materials and equipment to allow for ongoing evaluation and feedback concerning commercially-available items.
Last year over $10,000 of functional materials were purchased for use in the functional academics classes. The functional academic resource list (See Appendix J). was included in the North Carolina Transition manual.
3.8 The Site-based Projector Director will provide for the implementation of innovative strategies aimed at problem solving specific issues identified as potential barriers to transition.
Any time a barrier is presented, it is addressed and overcome. This has included transportation, lack of parental involvement, lack of student motivation, agency funding issues, and lack of community awareness.
3.9 The Project Staff will continue to develop curricular materials designed for use within functional community-based education delivery model.
No curricular materials were developed. However, DEGREE (Developing Educational Goals and Realizing Educational Excellence) was implemented with unit plans designed by program staff.
3.10 The Project Staff will continue to develop methods for insuring the effective inclusion of students with special needs within the total school program.
Younger students are included in P.E., library, music and school assemblies Older students are included in high school assemblies, internships, workforce development courses, sports, non-academic classes, and community-based training.
Goal 4: Product Development and Dissemination (original page number 9)
4.1 The Project Coordinator and Site-based staff will develop anddistribute a "How To" manual that provides a written plan for replicating TASSEL. (Appendix B is a preliminary draft of the replication manual).
The TASSEL Handbook was revised and re-organized, September 1998. The Handbook is available on disk.
4.2 Establish an E-mail designed as an information and referral system regarding the development and delivery of transition services.
An E-mail address has been established. See objectives 1.4, 1.5, and 2.10.
4.3 The Project Coordinator will distribute a semi-annual "Transition Newsletter" via E-mail (available in paper copy upon request) that includes answers to the most asked questions, descriptions of curricular materials, and other information referral sources.
The information newsletter can be found on the Home Page (http://www.uncc.edu.tassel/).
4.4 Project Staff will distribute TASSEL Outreach Project working papers in response to orders received or as handouts at conference presentations.
All orders received have been distributed by mail and at conference presentations (See Appendix E). Appendix I includes a summary of satisfaction with our dissemination materials.
4.5 The Project Staff will attempt to commercially publish Project curricular materials, as appropriate, to ensure widest dissemination.
This option was never investigated.
4.6 Project Staff will submit the most innovative and systematic findings to professional archival journals such as Exceptional Children, Journal the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Career Development for Exceptional Children.
(1) Aspel, N, Bettis, G. Test, D.W. & Wood, W. M. (1998). An evaluation of a comprehensive system of transition services. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 21, 203-223.
(2) Aspel, N., Bettis, G., Quinn,, P., Test, D.W., & Wood, W., M. (in press).A collaborative process for planning transition services for all students with disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Children.
In addition, information on TASSEL was included in: A., Turnbull, R., Turnbull, Leal, D., & Shank, M. Exceptional Lives Special Education in Today’s Schools, (2nd ed.), Merrill Publishing Company, 1999.
4.7 Reports of effective practices will be submitted to practitioner-oriented journals such as Teaching Exceptional Children.
See 4.6
4.8 The Site-based Director and the Project Coordinator will
include findings that further validate TASSEL in the revised editions of the "How
To" manual.
4.9 Project Staff will present at national and regional conferences of appropriate professional organizations, as well as the Transition Directors Meeting in the Washington, DC area.
Project Staff presented at the Annual Project Director’s meeting in Washington, DC, June 1998.
4.10 The Project Director will submitted yearly evaluation reports to the OP of the US DOE. These reports will focus primarily on evaluation and of Project progress. (see below)
This is the final report.
4.11 The Project Director and Project Coordinator will
write and disseminate annual evaluation reports regarding the Project’s effectiveness.
Annual evaluation results for all three years are currently included on the TASSEL Home Page.
Goal 5: Evaluation (original page number 10)
5.1 Evaluation data will be collected as per the Evaluation
Plan (see Evaluation Plan section below).
Data were collected as planned including: (1) Transition needs assessment data, (2) Demographic data, and (3) Consumer satisfaction data via student, family, adult services, school personnel, and business surveys. In additional, data were collected from each replication site, every year, regarding the number of students enrolled in various Vocational Training Options provided by each replication site.
(See Appendix F Community Profiles)
5.2 During the summer of each Project year, evaluation procedures will be reviewed by the Project Director and staff and modified where appropriate where appropriate.
5.3 During the summer of each Project year, evaluation data will be analyzed by the Project Director.
Evaluation data for Year Three were collected. Data have been received from Shelby City/Cleveland County, Aiken County , Lexington 2, Greenville County, Macon County, and Oxford City Schools, as well as from the Project Home site in Shelby City/Cleveland County, and are included in their Community Profile located in Appendix F. As can be seen, each of these school systems has made progress towards accomplishing their stated goals and have increased the number of students receiving vocational training options. Newberry County, Newberry, South Carolina, did not respond after several attempts to contact them were made by mail, phone calls, and faxes. Sumter County Schools data was included as part of the Alabama report . However, Appendix F still contains their "baseline" data in the Community Profile.
III. FINAL REPORT (Years One - Three, 1995-1998)
Public Awareness
The TASSEL Outreach Project was successful in providing public awareness all three years. A total of 12 articles appeared in publications and newspapers, with additional information included in Turnbull & Turnbull’s new book Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools, 1999. In addition, a WEB page was designed that currently has 1,516 "hits", as well as an email address through which the grant is still processing requests for information. Presentations were made at 10 conferences in 8 different states. Open Houses were held at the TASSEL home site, twice a year during he three years of the grant, with personnel attending from states as far away as California.
Articles
• Year One
(1) Counterpoint, Spring, 1996
(2) Established a HomePage and E-Mail hotline for TASSEL Outreach Project dissemination purposes.
(3) Developed a Project Brochure
• Year Two
(1) North Carolina Transition Project for Youth with Disabilities’ Enroute (2) Eucation for Employment
(3) DCDT Network
(4) School-To-Work Outreach Project Profile
(5) School-To-Work News
(6) The Shelby Star
• Year Three
(1) South Carolina DD Frontline Newsletter
(2) Bridges, A Newsletter from NC Transition Council
(3) VOICE
(4) The Oxford, Mississippi Eagle Daily News
(5) UNC Charlotte, Common Knowledge
(6) 1999, Exceptional Lives Special Education in Today’s Schools Turnbull & Turnbull,
(7) 1998, An evaluation of a comprehensive system of transition services. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals,.
(8) ( In press). A collaborative process for planning transition services for all students with disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Children.
Presentations
• Year One
(1) DCDT Conference, Raleigh, NC, October, 1996
(2) Tennessee Annual Spring Special Education Conference, Nashville, TN February, 1996
(3) Fifth Annual Alabama Transition Conference, Auburn, AL, March 1996
(4) 1996 Alabama Summer Institute, Mobile, Alabama, July 1996
• Year Two
(2) TASH Conference, New Orleans Louisiana, November, 1997
(3) South Carolina State Transition Coordinators Conference, Columbia, South Carolina, February, 1997
(4) South Carolina CEC, Hilton Head, South Carolina, February, 1997
(5) CEC-MR conference in Austin, Texas
(6) Submitted proposal for the DCDT International Conference, October 1997
• Year Three
(1) DCDT International Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona, October, 1997
(2) NTA Annual Project Director’s Meeting, Washington, DC, June, 1998
(3) Ninth Annual APSE Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July, 1998
TASSEL Home Site ( Shelby City/Cleveland County) Open Houses
• Years One and Two
(1) September 10, 1996, Special Education Coordinator and Transition Coordinator from Lexington 2 School District visited for the day to attend School Level transition planning meeting
(2) November 10th - 15th, Special Education Coordinator from Lexington School District and TASSEL Outreach Project Coordinator
(3) April 21st - 25th, eight teachers, one Special Education Coordinator, and one Employment Specialists from Greenville County Schools, Greenville, South Carolina, two teachers from Marion County Schools, Marion, South Carolina, four teachers from Pender County, North Carolina, one School-to-Career Coordinator and one Department Chair from California School for the Deaf, Freemont, California, and six teachers from Scotland County School, Laurinburg, North Carolina
• Year Three
(1) October 24, 1997
(2) March 19-20, 1998, Special Education Directors, Transition Coordinators, and teachers from Oxford, Mississippi, Lexington 2, West Columbia, South Carolina, Darlington County School District, Darlington, South Carolina, Richland 1, Columbia, South Carolina and several representatives from LEAs in North Carolina.
Replication and Technical Assistance
The TASSEL Outreach Project originally projected that three replication sites per year would be selected for participation in the Project. During the first and second years of the grant it was apparent that sites selected the first and second years would still need assistance throughout the life of the grant. Therefore instead the intended nine sites, the Project ended with seven replication sites with all sites receiving ongoing technical assistance.
• Year One
Three sites for replicating the TASSEL model were selected;
(1) Forrest County Schools, Hattiesburg, Mississippi,
(2) Aiken County Schools, Aiken, South Carolina.
(3) In addition, TASSEL Outreach Project staff provided initial training to six (6) school districts in Alabama that have volunteered to become statewide replication, demonstration, and technical assistance sites for the state of Alabama.
• Year Two
Established two new replication sites;
(1) Newberry County Schools, Newberry, South Carolina
(2) Oxford School District, Oxford, Mississippi
• Year Three
Established two new replication sites;
(1) Greenville County Schools, Greenville, South Carolina
(2) Macon County Schools, Lafayette, Tennessee.
Additional Technical Assistance (See Appendix G for complete list)
• Assisted Darlington County Schools with the adoption of an Occupational Diploma
• Assisted the State Department of Education in Alabama in adopting the Occupational Diploma based partly on the TASSEL model. This option will be available to all students with disabilities in Alabama schools beginning in the 1997-1998 school year.
• Assisted Lexington 2 School District in Columbia, South Carolina with the development of courses to be offered to upcoming ninth graders to begin preparation for the S.T.E.P Diploma (Student Training for Employment Program) based on the TASSEL Model. An Occupational Diploma was adopted by the School Board in June 1887.
• Helped establish Community-Level Teams in Oxford City Schools, Oxford, MS, Macon County, Lafayette, TN, and Aiken County Schools, Aiken. SC.
• Assisted with re-establishing the Community-Level Team in Greenville County Schools, Greenville, SC.
Product Development and Dissemination
Product development and dissemination are continuing as post-grant activities. As a result of the TASSEL Outreach Project over 360 packets containing (1) TASSEL brochure, (2) TASSEL Outreach Project Overview, (3) TASSEL Model Diagram, (4) Requirements for Occupational Diploma, (5) TASSEL video, (6) TASSEL Handbook have been distributed to states, school districts, and school personnel both nationwide and worldwide. (See Table in Appendix E). Product development included a Transition Planning Process Guide, Transition Needs Assessment for replication sites, Procedures for Replicating TASSEL, and Occupational Diploma Competencies. In addition, seven different Power Point presentations were developed for use at conferences and for technical assistance. Finally, the TASSEL Outreach Project dissemination products and activities have been well-received by our customers (See Appendix I).
• Year One
Developed drafts of:
(1) a site evaluation tool,
(2) task analysis for developing an alternative diploma (transition) program
(3) transition planning process guide.
• Year Two
Developed:
(1) Procedures for Replicating TASSEL
(2) Transition Needs Assessment
(3) Transition Planning Process Guide
(4) Occupational Diploma Competencies
(5) Resource List of Materials for Teaching Transition Skills
(6) School level transition meeting videotape
(1) Revised TASSEL Handbook
(2) Updated TASSEL Home Page http://www. uncc.edu/tassel/
(3) Developed presentation packages using Power Point:
a. Short (1 hour) TASSEL Transition Model presentation
b. Long (2 hour) TASSEL Outreach Project and TASSEL Transition Model presentation
c. Community-Based Instruction presentation
• Year Three
(1) Revised TASSEL Handbook
(2) Updated TASSEL video
(3) Revised Resource List
(4) Updated TASSEL Home Page http://www. uncc.edu/tassel/
(5) Developed presentation packages using Power Point:
a. Writing Effective ITPs
b. How to Present the Occupational Diploma to Local School Boards
c. Evaluating Your Transition Program
d. Interagency Collaboration
Evaluation
Project evaluations has been an ongoing activity since 1993 with data being collected from the TASSEL Home Site. Evaluations can be accessed through the TASSEL Web Site, including updated data from all replication sites. A Transition Needs Assessment was developed for use with the replication sites that enable the Project to determine strengths and weaknesses, as well as determining a viable "starting point" for assistance.
• Year One
(1) Transition needs assessment data
(2) Demographic date
(3) Consumer satisfaction data via student, family, adult services, school personnel, and business surveys
• Year Two
(1) Conducted Transition Needs Assessment and developed a "Community Profile" for all sites ( including yearly objectives and numbers of students receiving various vocational and community-based training services).
(2) Evaluated consumer satisfaction services provided through the TASSEL home-site.
(3) Evaluated presentations and products disseminated.
• Year Three
(1) Conducted final Transition Needs Assessment and updated "Community Profile" for all sites ( including yearly objectives and numbers of students receiving various vocational and community-based training services).
(2) Evaluated consumer satisfaction with services provided through the TASSEL home-site.
(3) Evaluated presentations and products disseminated.
(4) Table 4 indicates that the TASSEL Outreach Project enabled seven LEAs to provide increased vocational training opportunities to almost 800 students.