Transition services begin during the IEP period in which a student turns fourteen and are focused on helping students determine and achieve their post-secondary goals. The process starts with an age appropriate transitional assessment that is updated yearly for the student’s annual review or re-evaluation meeting. These assessments can be formal or informal and serve to explore student’s interests, strengths, and needs throughout the years. 

Student IEPs include appropriate measurable post-secondary goals related to training/education, employment, and where appropriate, independent living skills. Transition planning also includes transition services, including courses of study and services needed to assist the student in reaching his or her goals.

The transition process and discussion for each student will address and answer some of the following questions:

• Who am I?
• What are my personal strengths and interests?
• What do I want in life, now and in the future?
• What are some of life’s demands that I can meet now?
• What are my options in school and the community for preparing me for what I want, now and in the future?
• What, if any, are the main barriers to getting what I want from school and my community?

Bi-County IEP team members including teachers, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, transition staff, physical therapists, behaviorists, counselors and other classroom staff, along with parents/guardians and families work together to assist each student in determining their interests, preferences, areas of strengths, needs, and long term goals.

Students continue their learning in traditional academic subjects and special interest areas. However, embedded within their learning are self-determination skills, independent living skills, social and communication skills, as well as vocational and educational exploration.  

My Path, My Future!

The Bi-County Collaborative Professional Speaker Series brings meaningful, real-world voices into the lives of our students. Through this initiative, professionals from a wide range of careers, backgrounds, identities, and abilities visit our programs to share their experiences, challenges, and successes. Each speaker helps students understand how personal interests, persistence, and opportunity can come together to shape a fulfilling career and life path.

This series is an important part of Bi-County Collaborative’s programming, preparing students for life after school and reflecting the vision of its Transition Services Department. Guided by a commitment to empowering students in both the classroom and the community, the speaker series helps them strengthen their skills and move toward adulthood with confidence and purpose. Designed to support students as they prepare for the future, it helps them explore career possibilities, build self-awareness, and develop a clearer vision for what comes next. By hearing directly from individuals working in their communities, students gain valuable insight into different career paths and the steps they can take to pursue them.

The theme for the 2026–2027 series, “My Path, My Future!” highlights the power of individual choice and self-discovery. Speakers will explore how students can actively shape their career journeys by connecting their personal identities, aspirations, and opportunities.

The impact of the Professional Speaker Series extends beyond a single presentation. Many speakers inspire classroom discussions, school-wide activities, and work-based learning opportunities that help students connect what they hear with hands-on experiences. By sharing authentic stories from local professionals, the series helps students recognize that success can take many forms and that their own paths are possible.

Through these conversations, students are encouraged to imagine their futures, discover new interests, strengthen their skills, and take the next step toward independence, adulthood, and meaningful participation in their communities.

Speaker Series 2026–2027

• In progress

Speaker Series 2025–2025

• Chase Del Monte – Chaotic Wrestling
• Peter Cohn – Retired Pediatrician
• Elena Hogan – Boundless Bean
• Brian Ferri – Millibar Robotics
• Colleen Brierley, Michael Barbadoro, and Charles Bogan – Norfolk Probate & Family Court
• Cynthia Beckwith – Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard
• Katie Hallahan – Independent Novelist
• Philip Eng – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

Speaker Series 2024–2025

• Toby Burrell – SAB Solutions
• Isaiah and Joshua Waddell – Lemonade Bros. LLC
• Ron Waddell – Legendary Legacies
• Jeremie Smith – New Balance
• Ernie Boch Jr. – Philanthropist and Employer

Speaker Series 2023–2024

• Nicholas Duarte – Electrical Engineer
• Greg Snow – Government Logistics
• Carlos Lobato – Owner, Inkify
• Catie Reilly – Marketing, Polar Seltzer
• Dylan Woodson – Diesel Mechanic and Reservist
• Chelsey Simoni – VA Nurse
• Jason Jesus – Restaurant Owner
• Kim Cohn – Owner, Karma Advanced Skin Care
• Vance Cromwell – FBI Boston Field Office