First Post

This is our first blog post!  This site will be utilized for posting pictures, stories, successes and creations of IHS' Transition II class. We hope that the students will utilize this site to learn about blogging and then will choose to create their own blog to express themselves. 
Our class discussed making a blog last year because I feel it is an age appropriate way for students to communicate with their Circle of Support.  Traditionally most Transition classes write a daily log at the end of the school day to take home to their parents.  I feel this is a routine that has been carried on since Kindergarten and with access to amazing resources like the internet, computers and free blog spots there is no reason why we cannot expand our tools for communicating.  Also, it is important for the students to begin thinking about a Circle of Support that is not limited to their parents/guardians.  The Transition II students are adults.  They are 18-22 years old and at this stage of life they need to learn to be comfortable accessing the community and they need to be a part of the community they live in.  Writing a short email to family to discuss their daily activities is no longer adequate. 
My students have lives to live and they are going to live these lives in their community, in Williamson County, TN.  So,Williamson County needs to know these young adults are here and that they need acceptance and support.  Once my students exit Transition II and the school system, there are not support systems available for them in Tennessee.  There are no real day programs, respite programs or supported living options available to most of them.  The state has forgotten the 8,000 plus individuals on the Medicaid Waiver waiting list.  My students will join the other 8,000 individuals waiting to be remembered.  So, because they are not cared for by the state, they need a community, a family, a circle of people around them to take hold of their goals. 
This blog, and the others that hopefully emerge from this exercise, will be sent out into the vast space that is the internet in search of listeners that are willing to help, willing to sacrifice time and resources, and are willing to make a difference. 
I expect at first our blog will just record the day to day of the class but hopefully over time it will expand to capture the thoughts, hopes and prayers of the unique individuals I call students. 
So please follow us on this journey, be patient as we find our way, read between the lines, and focus on the smiling faces.  These individuals are growing, changing, and like the rest of us, are moving toward a life of inter-dependence.