OCHS Hosts Post 21 Transition Services Fair for Special Education Students and Their Families

OCEAN CITY, NJ (October 8, 2019) – On Wednesday, October 30th, Ocean City High School will be hosting its first ever Post 21 Transition Services Fair. The goal of the event is to help parents and guardians of students with special needs by showcasing a variety of community agencies and resources that can help ease the transition from high school to adulthood. 

The Ocean City School District’s administrators, social workers and Support Services Department developed the fair as a way to present the multitude of resources and opportunities that are already within the community to parents and students. The event will showcase a variety of local agencies that provide services for 18 through post 21 students with special needs. The transition from high school to adulthood can often be overwhelming and confusing for students and parents. The Ocean City School District hopes this event will give parents and guardians the tools to make the transition as seamless and easy to understand as possible. 

“The Post 21 Transition Services Fair is the first of its kind in the Ocean City School District, which supports our one Strategic Plan goal of engagement. This Transition Services Fair is designed to connect our community and community resources with our special needs students and their families. It is exceedingly important for the district to care for our students while they are within our halls and to also continue providing guidance as they enter adulthood. We are aware of how anxious making transitions can be for students and families, this includes transitioning from high school to adulthood. We believe an event of this nature is of the utmost importance to our community. This event will provide access to a wealth of local resources and will serve as a reminder that our students and their families do not have to face this transition alone.” said Dr. Kathleen Taylor, Superintendent of Schools. 

The goal is to share information with parents and students on how to access different resources to help students transitioning from high school to living as an adult. There are a variety of great resources within the community including, job coaching, job training, and job mentoring for successful employment. By inviting these agencies to the event, our hope is that parents and students will feel more educated on how to access the resources available to them and feel better prepared for the transition ahead of them. 

The attending agencies include DDD, DVRS, Perform Care, One Stop, Jewish Family Services, ARC of Cape May and Atlantic Counties, Fair Free Transportation, Mobile Response, OCPD, OC Community Center, CMC Surrogate's Office, Shore Memorial Hospital, and the Ocean City School District Special Education Parent Advisory Group (SEPAG). 

In addition to this event, the Ocean City School District’s Special Education Parent Advisory Group (SEPAG) provides helpful resources and support for parents of students with special needs. The mission of SEPAG is to work towards the understanding of, respect for, and support of all children with special needs in the community. Special Education Parent Advisory Group resources and information can be found on the Ocean City Schools website. 

The Post 21 Transition Services Fair will connect parents/guardians with organizations and services that can help individuals with special needs feel empowered, independent, and better prepared for adulthood.