Transforming Transition at the National, State, and Local Levels through Communities of Practice: Strategies for Fostering Interagency Collaboration NSTTAC Institute May 2, :30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Working Across States and Stakeholders to Build Interagency Bridges for Youth: The IDEA Partnership’s Community of Practice on Transition oJoanne Cashman, Director, IDEA Partnership at NASDSE oDebra Grabill, Interagency Liaison and Consultant, NH Dept of Education oTina Greco, Program Specialist - Youth & Transition, NH Vocational Rehabilitation oJoan Kester, Statewide Transition Specialist, PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation oEllen Romett, Managing Director, PA Training & Technical Assistance Network oLinda Maitrejean, Director, Wisconsin Statewide Transition Initiative (WSTI) oSteve Gilles, Steve Gilles, Transition Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

What is the Practical Value of a Community of Practice? As we talk about Communities of Practice, we ask you to consider…. “Could a Community approach help address some of the persistent problems in transition?” “When you imagine what ‘could be’ in transition… might Community connections make it more likely?”

The Spirit of Community: We Are In This Together! A way of working oInvolving those who do shared work oInvolving those that share issues oAlways asking “who isn’t here?” A way of learning oCreate new knowledge grounded in ‘doing the work’ oInvolve those who can advocate for and make change

The Policy to Practice Gap oPolicies are often not understood in the field oWe have ‘islands’ of effective practice, but effective practice is often not well distributed oSometimes effective practices often do not transfer across organizations. oPractices often do not transfer across sites within the same organization.

Communities of Practice oThose that ‘do the work’ have important insights to share. oThose that are the ‘intended beneficiaries’ have important goals that must frame the future work. oTransition outcomes are not ‘one system’ outcomes. We need each other! oReal leadership means bringing practitioners and consumers into the work as allies

Communities of Practice o Sharing o Supporting o Learning o Involving the people that do the work o Encouraging investments that move the work o Translating learnings to policy o Creating new relationships among policymakers, researchers, & implementers

The National Community of Practice oStates oFederal Agencies oNational Organizations oNational TA Centers

New Eyes: Why Are Federal Agencies Interested in Communities of Practice? oChanging outcomes for youth oMaking the research-to -practice connections oTaking efforts to scale oImproving the performance of state and local systems oMaking the most of the federal TA Investment

OSERS and the Community oLearning from and with the states oWorking across education (OSEP) and VR (RSA) oLearning what it will take to move policy to practice

New Eyes: Why Are Professional Organizations Interested in Communities of Practice? oOrganizations as leverage for information spread oOrganizations as thought leaders and change agents oOrganizations as allies with SEAs to create opportunities to involve members in real change oBuild sustainability by building understanding and involvement

National Organizations and the Community oNational Roles oState Roles oCommunication Channels oFocus on New Ideas

Communities in States o Pennsylvania o New Hampshire o California o Alabama o Arizona o Virginia o Delaware o Wisconsin o North Dakota o D.C.

New Eyes: Why Are State Education Agencies (SEAs) interested in Communities of Practice? oBuild connections across agencies that share responsibility for transition age youth oMake the connection between decisionmakers and those that do the work everyday oLearn what works at the local level. Support sharing across sites oLearn with states that face similar problems

Multi-scale Learning: Learning Loops Built through Community FEDERAL STATE LOCAL SITE INDIVIDUAL

The Communication Structure The IDEA Partnership Community of Practice State to State State to Local Local to Local Local to State Federal to State State to Federal

Learning Loops in the State Community: Communication Network and Learning What Works LOCAL TO STATE TO LOCAL

Learning Loops in the Local Community: Sharing What Works and Creating Support Networks LOCAL PILOT LOCAL PILOT

Year-Round Communication Network: osharedwork.org is a website funded by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and sponsored by the IDEA Partnership at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) for the purpose of connecting stakeholders in the national Communities of Practice (CoP), participating states’ CoP and Practice Groups to develop their shared work.sharedwork.org

Year-Round Communication Network: This website is used to… oAnnounce new products developed. oAnnounce training events. oDisseminate the results of state pilot projects. oShare promising practices. oEncourage local-to-local sharing. oSeek input from the field on matters of shared interest that are being discussed by one or more of the Community of Practice partners. oAdvise the development of the key national, state, regional, and local meetings. oOther opportunities that become evident as we communicate more routinely.

Cross System Work Interagency Collaboration

Year-Round Strategy Creating An Environment where Local Stakeholders can Learn from One Another

Meaningful Youth Role Youth Leadership Youth Development

State to State Learning Around Issues Career Assessment Statewide Meetings Transportation High School Redesign

State to Local and Local to Local Learning Around Issues Shared Communication

Why Are Communities of Value? oProvide the support that individuals need oRespect the ‘expertise’ that individuals bring oRecognize the differences in the settings where people do their work oSeek commonality within differing viewpoints oUnite individuals in action oFocus on ‘learning’ oUse ‘learning’ to transform practice

Your Insights Could a Community approach help address some of the persistent problems in transition?” “When you imagine what ‘could be’ in transition… might Community connections make it more likely?”

Contact Information oJoanne Cashman, oDebra Grabill, oTina Greco, oJoan Kester, oEllen Romett, oLinda Maitrejean, oSteve Gilles,

The IDEA Partnership More information on the Interagency Transition Community and other Cross- State/Cross Role Communities is now available at: or …or call us toll free at: IDEAINFo