Transition Coordinator

As a Transition Coordinator with The Menta Education Group, you will prepare students aged 14-22 to embrace life after school in a behavioral, emotional and social capacity. You will bridge the critical gap between school and adult life by implementing an  outside-the-school-walls  mindset that centers on fostering student independence, building robust community networks and navigating the real world.

Bourbonnais, IL.

General Staff Hours 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Occasional Responsibilities beyond work hours.

• Supervision & Behavioral Management:
  Supervise students in groups and individually, monitoring behavior to ensure alignment with programmatic expectations.
• Student Counseling:
  Counsel students on personal, social, behavioral, or academic issues affecting their educational progress.
• Person-Centered Planning:
  Ensure every student actively leads or participates in their own Individualized Education Program (IEP) transition meetings. Utilize assistive technology, visual choice boards or person-centered tools to provide a voice for students with limited or non-verbal communication.
• Goal Realism & Guidance:
  Manage complex dynamics where a student's post-secondary dream conflicts with parental wishes or current skill realities. Apply strategies like  failing safely  (e.g., career-testing, job shadowing and temporary classes) alongside stepping-stone goals to gently navigate reality without crushing student ambition.

• Student Evaluations:
  Evaluate individual student abilities, interests and personality characteristics using tests, records, interviews and professional sources.
• Multi-Faceted Assessment:
  Administer age-appropriate formal and informal transition assessments evaluating independent living, travel/transit skills, and actual work behaviors to formulate compliant, measurable post-secondary goals.
• IDEA Compliance:
  Apply strong knowledge of Individualized Education Act (IDEA) transition mandates to draft audited, highly scrutinized goals and dynamically pivot plans based on assessment data.
• Rigorous Progress Tracking:
  Utilize robust organizational systems such as digital tracking tools, rubric-based feedback from job coaches, and student self-monitoring checklists to track and document progress when students are off-campus at work-based learning sites.

• Community Site Development:
  Develop and maintain strong relationships with community sites, public transit systems, and external agencies.
• Work-Based Opportunities:
  Develop work-study programs, internships, and volunteer opportunities for students to gain competitive experience while completing their high school curriculum.
• Agency Connections:
  Manage the  Service Cliff  by facilitating warm handovers introducing families directly to agency contacts and connecting students with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), and developmental disability boards.
• Business Empathy & Partnerships:
  Proactively engage local business owners, pitching inclusive hiring benefits and demonstrating how a transitioning student adds tangible value to their workforce.

• Workplace Learning Labs:
  Safely intervene when work-based placements experience friction, behavioral incidents, or employer misunderstandings.
• Student Independence
  
  Coaching:
  
  Use workplace mistakes as a live curriculum, coaching students on how to navigate portals, look up records, request legal accommodations and repair professional relationships independently rather than filling out paperwork for them.

• Education:
  
  Bachelor’s Degree strongly preferred.
• Background in education or social work preferred.
• Regulatory Knowledge:
  Demonstrate deep, compliance-centered knowledge of transitioning students as per the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates.
• Transition & Coaching
  
  Experience:
  
  Documented knowledge and/or experience placing and coaching students in jobs, as well as assisting them in transitioning to college, career, and independent life.
• Systemic Mindset:
  Demonstrated…