Our mission at Bloomington Transition Center is to work with community partners to help students increase their independence as they work toward achieving their dreams and goals. BTC provides transition services for students aged 18 - 21 who continue to need special education services after high school and demonstrate independence in community-based settings.
Goals of BTC Program
- Provide intentional programming that strives to increase independence within the community- based setting.
- Assist students with career interest planning and determine appropriate training programs or college programs.
- Help students obtain competitive employment in their career areas of interest.
- Provide students with community-based work experience opportunities in their career areas of interest.
- Support students in developing skills to complete various independent living tasks such as transportation, budgeting, and living arrangements.
917 TESA @ BTC:
Bloomington Public Schools partners with Intermediate District 917 to provide an additional level of transition programming. Students participating in the TESA @ BTC Transition Program demonstrate a beginning to moderate level of independence in the school or community setting due to vulnerability, skill-building opportunities, and generalization of skills into different settings. Program placement will be determined by student needs and the Transition Programming Matrix, developed from the National Transition Standards, parent information, and IEP Team recommendations. The TESA @ BTC Transition Program will be located at the Community Education campus located at 2575 W. 88th Street in Bloomington.
Goals of TESA @ BTC partnership
- Provide intentional programming for students with moderate to severe profound needs.
- Provide work experience opportunities that are specific to jobs that students will be doing post-transition program.
- Connect students and families with outside agencies such as Opportunity Partners, Vocational Rehabilitation, Dakota County Technical College and Pro-Act.
- Provide volunteer and competitive community-based employment opportunities for students based on individual strengths and interests.
Work Experience
Project SEARCH is a one-year internship program for students with disabilities, between the ages of 17 - 21. It is designed for students whose goal is competitive employment. The program takes place at Embassy Suites Minneapolis Airport where total immersion in the workplace facilitates the teaching and learning process as well helping students gain marketable work skills. Students participate in three unpaid internships to explore a variety of career paths.