For Parents and Families
For parents of a student approaching the completion of high school, the thought of graduation is typically filled with joy, excitement, anticipation, a sense of accomplishment, and a bit of anxiety.
In contrast, the parents of young adults with intellectual disabilities who are exiting high school with a Certificate of Completion often experience a prevailing feeling of apprehension and fear of the unknown.
- What will happen when the familiarity of my child’s public school education is over?
- Is there anything to look forward to beyond sitting at home or going to a traditional adult program or workshop?
- There has to be more to life after high school than I think!
The great unknown of life after high school may prompt you to decide your son or daughter will continue in public school receiving special education services until the age of 22. This decision usually means staying in high school for up to 9 years. It is difficult for the best of programs to continue to raise the bar and challenge students to grow into responsible adults within a high school building. As we all know, there is little about high school that resembles “real life” as an adult.
If you are 18 years of age and a senior in your final year of an Indianapolis area high school, you may apply to become a student in this 1-2 year campus-based transition program. Applications are due before winter holiday break. As a SITE student, you will be enrolled in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and receive your education on the IU Indianapolis campus and in the city of Indianapolis. SITE staff will work with you to develop a plan for your education on campus. Though you will not be working to earn a college degree, you may audit 1-3 college classes each semester. You will also be engaged in learning opportunities in many areas, such as career preparation, internships, wellness, time management, campus and city navigation, computer skills, social networking, and topics of interest to you. All of this will help you grow up and become an adult with a job and an interesting life.
IU Indianapolis-SITE is a transition education program providedin partnership between Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and IU Indianapolis. This partnership enables the student to receive their transition education for 1-2 years on the IU Indianapolis campus, rather than in high school. Relocating to the adult environment of an urban college campus provides broader, richer learning opportunities. As with all college students, IU Indianapolis-SITE students enjoy a new status with greater freedom, accompanied by expectations of accountability and personal responsibility. They may audit 1-2 classes a semester. Yellow school busses are replaced by the city bus system. Passing periods and hall passes are replaced by personal schedules of classes, meetings, activities and watches or cell phone clocks. Cell phones keep us on track and help when there is a need to check in or get some guidance. Welcome to growing up. It sounds good…and probably scary. It is new to you, but Indianapolis Public School students have been benefitting from this opportunity since 2006.
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