Nicole Birri, ICTW training specialist (l), and Dede Gill, Huntley Community School District 158 (r), at a statewide special education directors conference.

High school students with disabilities have long had challenges when making the transition from school to work. The Illinois Center for Transition and Work is focused on making their path smoother and outcomes better.

Quick Take

• Since its inception in 2020, the Illinois Center for Transition and Work has impacted nearly 65,000 transition-aged students with disabilities.
• ICTW reaches special educators and related services people through trainings, workshops, online resources, Targeted Technical Assistance, and an annual symposium.
• ICTW has established statewide connections and coverage with a staff of four full-time and four part-time staff.
  

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in 2024 for youth (ages 16-19) with a disability was essentially double that of same-aged youth with no disability: 23.9% to 12.3%.

Stacy Dymond and her staff at the  Illinois Center for Transition and Work are working hard to get those percentages more in alignment with each other in the state of Illinois.

“Our goal is to provide services for transition personnel—special educators, related services providers, and administrators,” says Dymond, director of ICTW and a professor of Special Education in the College of Education. “Ultimately, we want to improve employment outcomes for students with disabilities when they exit school. That is our driving mission.”

Bridging Gaps and Rapid Growth

To that end, ICTW, which began in 2020, has conducted effective outreach and training throughout the state’s six regions, offering an annual symposium, regional workshops, and Targeted Technical Assistance activities where schools can apply to work with the center to create the changes the school desires in helping youth with disabilities make a successful transition from school to work.

How effective is the outreach?

In 2022, ICTW served 3,668 school personnel. That number increased to 9,604 in 2023 and to 23,678 last year.

“Through our symposium, workshops, and Targeted Technical Assistance activities, we have directly or indirectly impacted 64,773 transition-aged students with disabilities,” Dymond says.

That outreach, training, and impact is critical, because before ICTW debuted during the height of the pandemic (“Not exactly the easiest time to start!” she laughs), no program or center existed in Illinois to support school personnel in understanding how to help and prepare students with disabilities for the workforce.

"Awesome" Experts and Expertise

ICTW, funded by the Illinois State Board of Education, has a small—but potent—staff.

“Besides me, we have four people who are full-time and four part-time staff,” Dymond says. “They are awesome! They just bring a wealth of knowledge and experience with them.”

The staff’s primary role is to train educators and help schools meet their needs for successfully transitioning students to work. Each staff member is assigned a region of the state, and they visit and work with schools and regional boards in addition to providing training. Part of that training takes place at ICTW’s annual symposium. This year, the symposium will take place at the I Hotel on April 24-25.

“We strive for a balance between research and practice,” Dymond notes. “We bring together educators and vocational rehabilitation providers and help them prepare students for competitive, integrated employment. We look at the research and help them put it into practice.”

The symposium’s growth mirrors that of other facets of the center. In its first year, about 140 attended, Dymond says. Last year, they were up to 273. “This year, we’re planning on 350,” she notes.

Still Pushing for Improvement

While the growth has been impressive, Dymond and her staff are intent on both expanding and improving.

“We’re looking to refine the work,” she explains. “We’ve developed a number of resources and are always looking to generate new and creative resources that meet the needs of transition personnel.”

Those resources include case studies, fact sheets, research briefs, webinars, and a School-to-Transition Guide.

“We’re also refining our strategies that we’re using to support schools to create the changes that they want in preparing students for work. We want to make sure we’re being responsive to their needs,” she adds.

ICTW will continue to connect transition providers with adult service agencies to offer a more seamless transition from school to work, Dymond says.

“It’s not a very seamless process right now, so we’re working both at the local and state levels to make sure that the process does not hinder students from moving into employment in the community,” she says. “Many kids with disabilities require additional assistance when they exit from school, so these adult agencies, such as the State of Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services, will provide that assistance.”

ICTW is also focused on growing their ability to help transition providers across the state have a vision for all students reaching employment in integrated settings in the community, Dymond adds.

“We still have a lot of segregated work facilities here, sheltered workshops,” she explains. “We want to change that mindset. Some things are changing within our state and nationally, and we want to push that forward and help people think about how to prepare students for integrated employment.

“Basically, we want to increase the work that we’re doing to help school personnel feel knowledgeable and competent and able to prepare students for work. That’s not always a part of teacher prep programs, so it can be difficult to do in a typical high school setting where academics is more the norm.”

Deep Connections with Schools

When asked what she is proudest of, Dymond cites her exceptionally talented staff, the development of a culture at ICTW that values diverse thinking and pushing each other to explore research-based practices, and the deep connections created with school personnel across the state.

“Sometimes people see universities as the ivory tower,” she says. “We have really stressed that we aren’t evaluative in nature when we work with school personnel; we’re there to support them in their work. They know their school and their needs the best. We always start from that premise, and it has served us well.”

Dede Gill, assistant superintendent of special services for Huntley School District, agrees. Under Gill’s supervision, HSD has been working with ICTW for about two years.

“They’ve been an essential partner to us in Huntley,” she says. “We turn to ICTW for guidance on research and evidence-based practices to guide our staff in their work. We send our teachers, transition specialists, job coaches, and administrators to their regional workshops and to the annual symposium, which they would tell you is the best conference they’ve ever attended. We engage our school board, parents, and community members in discussions about the goals we are working toward in our district, and we utilize resources provided by ICTW to guide those conversations.”

"No Better Resource in Our State"

ICTW’s success, beyond its staff, is centered on being collaborative, research-based, and outcome-oriented, Dymond says.

“We have to keep our focus on the desired outcome, which is whatever we do has got to improve the ability of school personnel to prepare students for work and for students to actually achieve employment,” she says. “Otherwise, it’s not very useful, right?”

Thankfully, for high schools across the state of Illinois and their students with disabilities, ICTW has proven useful. As Gill says, “We know that the transition from school to work for our students with disabilities can be incredibly challenging because there are so many barriers to overcome. In Huntley, we are grateful for the incredible partnership we have with ICTW. We could not do what we are doing without them. There is no better resource in our state for school district leaders and educators to turn to when they want to understand how to prepare our students with disabilities for success in the area of employment.”

ICTW is currently applying for another five-year grant from ISBE. If approved, ICTW will continue its expansion of work with educators across the state, equipping them to help students make a successful transition to work.

“We hope to get more people interacting with us, using the resources we develop, and attending the trainings that we provide,” Dymond says.

“I think we’ve made an impact, and I’m excited to see what will happen in the future.”