THE CHILDREN’S GUILD SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE SELECTED AS PART OF THE MARYLAND TRANSITION DIGITAL PORTFOLIO PILOT PROGRAM
Digital Portfolio Engages Students In Transition Goals Including Building Employment Skills
Baltimore, MD, August 18, 2022 – As the school year is set to begin, the Maryland State Department of Education has selected The Children’s Guild Baltimore Campus to pilot the Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio (MTDP) as one of the Special Education Nonpublic locations. The digital portfolio assists students with disabilities in Maryland who are 14 or older to actively engage in transition goals and activities developed during the IEP process, build employment skills, and document work experiences.
The transition from high school to college or employment can be an overwhelming and challenging time for students with disabilities and their families. Students face specific challenges in the transition from familiar special education services provided in middle and high school to the changing scope of these services in the workplace, in post-secondary education or higher education.
To proactively support this transition, the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services developed the Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio which supports multiple learning styles; encourages self-determination, self-reflection, and self-advocacy, allows students to document personal growth to promote motivation and self-confidence, and provides a strengths-based perspective. For more information about the Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio visit Portfolio Structure and Age Mapping.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer this pilot program. We have a new computer lab thanks to a generous donation along with a new career center so are well equipped to provide our students with the tools they need for future success,” said Katina F. Webster, Ed.D, Principal, The Children’s Guild Baltimore School. “With the help of our Transition Coordinator and community partners we plan to expose students to experiences and opportunities from elementary through high school.”
Dr. Webster continues, “We cannot wait for our students to come back for a wonderful new school year. We have an impressive new curriculum that meets the needs of our unique learners, while also challenging them to make progress on state standards. Our reading program is expanding with the addition of research-based interventions and the continued efforts of our Literacy Specialist to support instruction and gather important data that informs the work we do. We have a new library where students will have access to high interest fiction, non-fiction, and digital resources. It will be a space where students can conduct research and engage in meaningful discussions with their teachers and peers.
The Children’s Guild, Inc., Baltimore Campus is a non-public, co-educational special education day school approved by the Maryland State Department of Education, for boys and girls 5-21 years old, who have emotional disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and multiple disabilities. The TCG Baltimore Campus is part of The Children’s Guild schools and programs which respond to the unique needs of every child, family, and community it serves. The organization is one of the largest providers of charter schools, special education, autism services, treatment foster care, and family mental and behavioral health services in the region.
Affiliates of The Children’s Guild include The Children’s Guild, Inc., Baltimore Campus, The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School, The Children’s Guild – Prince George Campus, Monarch Academy Glen Burnie, Monarch Academy Global – Laurel, Monarch Academy Annapolis, The Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Treatment Foster Care, The Children’s Guild- Transformation Academy, Monarch Preschool College Park, TranZed Academy for Working Students (TAWS), and TranZed Apprenticeships. For more information, visit https://childrensguild.org/.
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