▲ Burkburnett ISD’s 18+ Transition Program helps prepare special education students for post-high school careers.
BURKBURNETT ISD Burkburnett ISD
An off-ramp to careers for aging-out special needs students
County: Wichita
by Merri Rosenberg
2020 enrollment: 3,258
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About 50 to 60% of the district’s special education population remains with the program until they age out. The district funds the instructional staff and job coaches.
Recognizing that concern, Burkburnett ISD in Wichita County decided to offer an 18+ Transition Program. Launched in 2020, with placements starting last spring, the idea has resonated with the district and community.
Currently there are about four students in this transition program, with two being trained in welding and two already placed in jobs. Students have been selected based on their interests and skills, with these paid positions most successful for higher-functioning students with lowincidence disabilities, Owen says.
Special needs students are eligible to remain in the district, receiving services, until they are 22.
Superintendent: Dr. Brad Owen Number of schools: 7
ew issues matter as much to parents and guardians of special needs students as knowing what will happen once those students graduate from high school.
“We’re always looking for ways to help our students transition out of our high school,” says Brad Owen, superintendent of Burkburnett ISD, with the goal of “moving them toward independence.”
ESC region: 9
“We are focusing on the students who have demonstrated through the regular high school career the type of intensive prerequisite skills training and have needed the ongoing training in the most basic and hands on in the exact BRAGGING RIGHTS 2021-2022 Texas School Business
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