Transition Coordinator

United States·DeKalbFull-Timemid

OtherCoordinator

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Quick Summary

Key Responsibilities

Supervise students in groups and individually, monitoring behavior to ensure alignment with programmatic expectations. Student Counseling: Counsel students on personal, social, behavioral,

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OtherCoordinator

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.

DeKalb, IL.

General Staff Hours 8 a.m. to 3:30 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 ability to constantly focus on the "real world," utilizing community agency networks, public transit routes, and outer-community resources.

Behavioral & Performance Knowledge: Knowledge of human behavior, performance, and specific student needs (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD).

Professional Soft Skills: High level of professionalism, strong decision-making skills, and the ability to communicate calmly, transparently, and effectively in writing across varied audiences, including resistant families, school teams, and litigious stakeholders.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive, and the employee shall perform other reasonably related school duties as assigned by administrators. This organization reserves the right to revise or change job duties and responsibilities as the need arises. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.

In accordance with the Pay Transparency amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003, information about pay ranges and employee benefits can be found at the following links:

Compensation Information:

Salary Range $40,000 to $75,000 annually

https://menta.com/compensation-arizona-and-illinois/

Our benefits package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off (PTO); and a 403(b) retirement plan with an employer match. For more information visit: https://menta.com/employee-benefits-full-time/

About Menta Academy DeKalb K-12 and Menta Academy 912

The staff at Menta Academy DeKalb is dedicated to seeing each child reaches their potential in becoming 3-C Ready: College Ready, Career Ready, and Citizenship Ready.

Educational services are intended to meet both the developmental and individual learning needs of each student. Classrooms are designed to be active learning environments where young people have the opportunity to experience educational and behavioral success on a daily basis.

For students requiring intensive transitional services, a continuum of support is established. After earning necessary credits and demonstrating self-management of behaviors, students learn to generalize classroom skills in a community setting within Menta. This allows them to practice new skills and behaviors in a safe environment and be assessed through various methods.

Students learn employability skills such as problem-solving, effective communication, time-management, self-advocacy, community integration and transportation, adaptive living skills, and related work behaviors like grooming, hygiene, communication, following dress codes and schedules, completing tasks, and taking initiative.

Menta Academy Dekalb 912 is a collaboration with Dekalb Community School District 428 and like other Menta programs utilizes a unique curricular framework that relies on the Expanded Menta Method and Trauma Informed Practices as the foundational principles for the teaching, counseling and mentoring work done by our highly trained staff. Every aspect of the framework supports students with attainment of graduate competencies.

Our curriculum is personalized to meet the needs of each student, with technology and skilled teachers creating a dynamic learning environment. At Menta's Academy Dekalb, our unique learning spaces combine traditional teaching with cutting-edge technology and innovation. These flexible spaces support inquiry-based and project-based learning, designed to prepare students for real-world work environment. Menta Academy Dekalb Transition program readies students for their desired post-secondary opportunity, including college, technical schools, trades, military or gainful employment. It emphasizes the language and expectations of the workplace and offers job development and placement services in entry-level positions.

Professional Associations and/or Partnerships

The Menta Education Group affiliates are members/partners with CEC, CASE, Autism Speaks, ASBA, AAPSEC, AASA, CCSSO, SEAA, ASCD, and many more associations that focus on the education of children with disabilities.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Menta Education Group (“Menta”) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, gender identity and gender expression), color, national origin, religion, age, pregnancy or related conditions, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability or any other basis protected under federal, state or local law. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact Menta’s office.