Bloom 206 Program Makes Transition to High School Easier

Bloom Township High School District 206 recently held its Annual Articulation Breakfast, where administrators and special education personnel from several of the district's feeder schools meet to discuss how eighth-grade students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) transition to high school for the next school year.

Representatives from the feeder districts of District 172, District 170, District 169, and District 168 all attended the breakfast on Friday, October 29, 2021, at Bloom High School.

At the articulation breakfast, the attendees discuss the continuum of services provided by the high schools and the high school course requirements. In December and early January, each student with an IEP who is transitioning to the Bloom or Bloom Trail High School will have an Individual Education meeting where the key members of the sender school and the high school meet with each student and his or her family to discuss and plan for the student's individual needs. The articulation breakfast shares the information feeder schools need in order to plan those meetings.

"It is deeply important to us that students with individualized education programs are able to make a smooth and fruitful transition into our high schools," said Bloom 206 Supt. Lenell Navarre. "This breakfast is a great space for clarification, shared understanding, and the continued development of a true sense of community within our educational districts."

The articulation breakfast also provides time for the schools to discuss special education issues that may need addressing as well as an opportunity for the feeder schools to do a check-in on the current ninth-grade students. Overall the breakfast is a collegial way to build relationships between the elementary schools and Bloom and Bloom Trail High Schools.

"Supporting students is a collaborative effort and Bloom Township High School District 206 strives to partner with our feeder schools to meet all students' needs as they transition to high school," said Carole Weis Burns, Director of Special Education and Student Services.