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  >>The No Stopping Point Curriculum | >>Key Phrases
       
  The No Stopping Point Curriculum    
     
 

At Dane County Transition School, we offer an uniquely customized educational curricula that promotes social, emotional, academic, and vocational skills development and growth.

Students at DCTS benefit from:

  • An environment of acceptance and a sense of family.
  • Setting real goals by developing a Personal Learning Opportunity Plan (PLOP).
  • Shared decision-making, self-expression and team building.
  • Small-group instruction with caring teachers.
  • Interest groups instead of traditional courses.
  • A chance to build self-esteem by helping others through Service Learning projects.
  • The opportunity to interact with a variety of community resource programs.
  • Outdoor adventure experiences.
  • A Personal Transition Plan. A path to graduation and beyond.

Dane County Transition School is a school with no stopping point!

  
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Key Phrases
( INTEREST GROUPS | EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING | SERVICE LEARNING TRANSITION PLANNING |PLOP | PORTFOLIO | PTP | GRID | DIPLOMA)

    
     
 

INTEREST GROUPS:
At DCTS we run "interest groups" instead of what are commonly known as classes. Interest groups are learning segments that focus on the interest of the students. Students and staff collaborate on ideas for possible interest groups.

Unlike a typical 1-hour high school class, interest groups meet for 40 minutes and do not focus on a specific academic subject, but rather on the integration of core subjects surrounding the students' interests.

Interest groups run approximately 5 to 6 weeks and are designed to meet Wisconsin state standards.

A sample of interest groups we’ve offered include:

"Bike Repair" (Science, Math)
"Bad Asses in History" (Social Studies, English)
"Watershed Ecology" (Science, English, PE)
"Playwriting" (English, Art)
"Carpentry" (Math, Art, Science)
"Sex, X and Cigs" (English, Health, Social Studies)
"Psychology of Serial Killers" (Psychology, English)

  
 
     

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING:
Experiential Learning is a teaching methodology that promotes learning by providing students with hands-on, challenging experiences that expand upon themes and concepts covered in the traditional classroom.

SERVICE LEARNING:
Service Learning is a learning by giving back to the community. By completing real world useful service projects students help their community while at the same time learn valuable academic, vocational, and life skills.

TRANSITION PLANNING:
Transition learning is used to facilitate and/or assist students in making important life decisions concerning their transition from high school to the real world of work, higher education and independent living.

PLOP:
Personal Learning Opportunity Plan serves as the goals and objectives for the school year and as the basis for evaluation of a student’s progress.

PORTFOLIO:
The portfolio contains an example of the student's work from each interest group, grade summaries, integrated interest group grids, work evaluation, test results, service learning evaluations, PTP, and the PLOP.

PTP:
Personal Transition Plan serves as an on-going plan to direct students to the next level after earning their high school diploma. Each plan contains information on post-secondary options, applications, scholarships, and testing information.

GRID:
Student’s interest group evaluations are placed on a grid to show the integration of academic subjects. The principal and sending school district use the grid to determine credits earned toward graduation requirements.

DIPLOMA:
Since DCTS is a partner with high schools, a graduate from DCTS will earn a regular high school diploma from their sending public high school. The student may participate in the graduation ceremonies at both schools.

  
 
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