Transition Program

Internal Transition
The district Transition program is a six week prescribed curriculum that is designed to assist youth in their transition from a secure care setting back into their communities and educational settings. The program provides all students with quality instruction through a continuum of educational resources that promote achievement, character, and the skills necessary to transition from the program with tools that enhance citizenship and life-long learning. The program consists of the following areas of instruction:

Merging 2 Worlds: The Merging Two Worlds Curriculum is designed to help students prepare for reintegration into the community, school or world of work upon release from a secure care environment It is based on the concept that resiliency  is critical to a student’s successful reintegration into the community. The curriculum emphasizes the interconnection between the “worlds” of secure care and the community. Each of the curriculum’s forty lessons utilizes instruction in life skills, career development skills, resiliency skills and social skills to meet the Arizona K-12 Academic Standards and the Arizona Adult Learning Standards as well as current national academic and learning standards.

AzCIS (Arizona Career Information System): The program is accessed through the Arizona Department of Education Career and Technical Education. It is designed to provide educational, career and occupational information in order to assist students with making better educational and career choices.

ECAP (Arizona Education and Career Action Plan): An ECAP reflects a student’s current plan of coursework, career aspirations, and extended learning opportunities in order to develop the student’s individual academic and career goals. It is a four year implementation plan that at minimum, allows all students to enter, track and update academic, career, postsecondary and extracurricular information and activities.

Student Exit Plan: Each student is required to complete a Student Exit Plan upon entry into the Transition program. The goal of an exit program is to help students make a successful transition to the next stage of their lives. The Student Exit Plan is designed to assist with a review of each student’s plans for the following:

• Secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities
• Training or apprenticeships that they would be interested in
• Independent living
• Career choices
• Information on university and college programs, application and admission procedures.
• Information on apprenticeship programs
• Information on procedures for applying for employment
• Financial planning information

Student Exit Survey: The exit survey is designed to assist the academic team in determining the reasons for a student’s return to secure care, along with ways in which to prevent it from reoccurring. It is provided to all students returning to the secure care setting and surveys them as to the circumstances that they feel contributed to their return. Students are instructed to not provide details of any current or past offenses.

Additional Resources: Arizona Career and Educational Guide, A+ Anywhere Learning System, Character Counts, EZ Occupational Outlook Handbook, Dream Catchers – Developing Careers and Educational Awareness

External Transition
The External Transition Program was designed to reduce the rate of recidivism by assisting students who were detained in the Durango and Mesa detention facilities with a seamless transition back into the community.  The program goal is achieved by focusing on positive affiliations in 4 main areas in a student’s life – Education, Career and Employment, Recreation and Family. The External Transition Facilitator works with the students while they are still detained to ensure a smooth transition after their release.
Education – The External Transition Facilitator works with each student to ensure that he/she is enrolled and attending an educational setting on a regular basis and that ECAP and Post-secondary education goals are met.  Assistance with financial aid information and support is also provided.
Career/Employment – The External Transition Facilitator also provides assistance with employment referrals, job applications, resumes and referrals to employment assistance programs.

Recreation – Memberships to the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club are provided as well as assistance in becoming affiliated with sports, art, music programs, etc.
Family – The External Transition Facilitator also assists in addressing family needs by providing assistance with social service agencies and making referrals, i.e. counseling.
The program currently focuses on the Maryvale area, which includes the following zip codes:  85019, 85031, 85033, 85035, 85037 and 85043.

To ensure that each student is successful the External Transition Facilitator works closely with all parties involved in the student’s life, such as parents/guardians, Probation Officers, teachers, school administrators, etc.  The External Transition Facilitator also tracks each student for 9 months or throughout the student’s probationary period.  Studies have shown that students that have been positively affiliated in the 4 areas mentioned above are less likely to recidivate.