Never to Early!

When it comes to post-secondary transition planning, many families and educators mistakenly believe the process begins in high school. However, it could also depend on where you live; let me ‘splain. For us, (we’re in Maryland, by the way), it starts at age 14, which typically falls during a student’s 8th grade year. At that level, we’ll have students complete very basic interest inventories and discuss career aspirations (because, lets be honest, those probably won’t change, right?!). But, what this does is establish a foundation for future planning (so that’s a good thing).

Not gonna lie, this phase is often overlooked. Middle school educators are “probably” not as immersed in the transition process (but we’re working on it ((or at least here in Maryland we are)) and families are typically more focused on the immediate jump to high school (#canIgetanamen). Still, sparking conversations early about a student’s interests and potential goals allows students to become more aware of their strengths and their dreams (and that’s a big deal!).

Regardless of whether a student will receive a traditional diploma or something else, its still important to engage them in discussions about careers, goals, and even simple interests. It's also good cause it pushes parents or anyone who’s there for support (aunts, uncles, caregivers, grandparents, cousins, besties, college roommates, aunts-who-used-to-be-uncles and so on) to also be aware of what pushes their kiddo forward. Meghan (Smallwood) (the co-host of our podcast and the person who puts up with my endlessly bad jokes) notes, “It’s great to get that conversation started... so that when they come up to high school, it’s not completely taking them by surprise.” That’s good stuff.

TTFN