One final push...

The end of another school year is approaching (in 7 days - but who is counting).  When you work to provide students with transitional supports, this is crunch time.  This is a time of countless meetings, adjusted schedules, trainings, and trial runs all with one thing in mind...a smooth transition.  Whether it be a transition from school to work, school bus to city bus, mom and dad's home to MY home...this is the time where we learn if what we have been working so hard towards is going to pay off. For so many of our students and families, this transition is the biggest one of their lives.  It is the first time in 13+ years that the supports and structures that the school system provides are no longer in place.  Now, if we have done our job well, no one will even notice that shift.  There will be no lapse in services, a new set of supports will take its place, but it is all very scary, nonetheless.  Much like an athelete preparing for a big game, a tv anchor as the news kicks off, a vocalist belting that first note, THIS is when my adrenaline starts rushing.  I have spent the school year, for some of them even more, coaxing them to the edge.  Now is the time to give one last push and watch them fly away!

This year, I will take a leap right along with my students.  I will be leaving what I know, love, and find so comfortable, to try something new.  Throughout the past few months I have been taking the steps and preparing for this transition, but as I step close to the edge, ready to take the leap myself, I now see and feel why it is so hard and so scary.

After 6 years in this job I will be moving and taking on a new role next fall.  My new role will look very much the same.  I will still be focused on providing supports and services for students as they grow older and prepare to leave school and venture into the adult world.  I will still be providing instruction in the community...just this time in a new community.  One that is closer to my family and friends that I grew up with.  In my time in my current position I have gained so much and established a strong foundation of my educational beliefs and my approach to teaching.  I have had opportunities and experiences that most would not encounter in a life time of teaching and working.  And because of that, I want to take a moment to say thank you.  Thank you to those who made those opportunities and experiences possible, to those who worked along side me, helping to build and grow hard working young adults AND a transition program that I think is quite fantastic (but I am quite biased).  Thank you to my students, past and present.  Each and every one of you has changed me as both a teacher and a person.  I am so glad I was able to be a part of your journey!  To the families, thank you for your honesty, vulnerability, and willingness to take risks and allow your child to take risks too!

Now...inching closer to the edge with each passing school day, I carry the knowledge and strength I have gained from my time at the PrairieWood Transition Center and
I am ready to leap into the unknown, right along with my students, and start the next adventure of life.

Enjoy your summer!  Tune in next fall as I embark on a new community and prepare more young people to come to the edge!

Mackenzie