Threshold's Post-Graduate Programs

Transition Year - Independent Living

Transition Year – An Independent Living program designed for the majority of Threshold graduates, those ready to transfer and apply skills learned in the two-year program to living in the community, in their own apartment and paid employment.

Most graduates participate in Threshold's Transition Year, a (10) ten-month program designed to maximize the participants' success as they begin to apply in practice the skills learned in Threshold's first two years. This program is the logical next step after a student's on-campus experience. The program model is largely experiential with instruction taking place on job sites, the Lesley campus, and in the students' off-campus apartments. After fulfilling the requirements of Transition Year, students earn three additional college credits and a certificate indicating successful completion of the program.

The June Seminar

The Transition Year begins with a (9) nine day preparatory seminar held in early June on the Lesley campus. Through workshops and structured follow-up activities, students focus on making roommate decisions in a responsible, systematic way; finding apartments for September; establishing themselves with leisure-time organizations; preparing realistic independent living routines for the fall; establishing themselves with a prearranged employment collaborative; and investigating potential, viable job possibilities for their return in September. At the conclusion of the June Seminar, students will have compiled a survival kit for use in the fall, when they return to start the program. In addition students take home a packet of assignments to complete over the summer.

Job Acquisition and Maintenance

The goal for Transition Year students is to work in a paid position in their field of study. The Job Placement Specialist assists students in obtaining paid employment and contending professionally with work-related issues. Focus is placed on general adjustment, including: acclimating to a new work environment, developing conscientious work habits, dealing effectively with colleagues and superiors, and demonstrating responsibility, a positive attitude, and overall organizational skills. The primary goal is to help students implement the skills needed to succeed at their new jobs.

Independent Living Advising

Independent Living Advisors visit Transition Year students weekly. The advisor helps each graduate apply the variety of skills learned during Threshold's two-year program, including money management, meal planning and preparation, apartment maintenance, living with roommates, health and safety, and structuring free time. Advising is offered both individually and in small-group meetings.

Transition Academics

Transition students take three courses over the course of the ten months.

Managing Life & Time

The class will help to prepare students to be more effective with their time while living in an apartment.  The class will meet weekly on Monday morning.   Students will be required to participate in the class until they have secured a job.  This class will help students use their time productively in addition to academic classes and regularly scheduled meetings with job specialist and independent advisors.   Students will begin to see and learn how to manage their time, which includes the job search, attending classes, managing their apartment and leisure time. Students will learn the importance of balancing their lives and using their planners and concentrating on their apartments, employment, class attendance-homework, and dressing appropriately for class and work. Classes will consist of hands on assignments and in class discussions.  Job search clubs will be established where tips are exchanged and support is provided.

Field trips to Career Source will be a part of class activities.  Students will complete an electronic journal each week.

Decision Making through the lens of Young Adult Literature and Film

Students read two books and view a films. These become the vehicles for discussion and application of decision making to be used in their newly established independent lives. Students develop trip planning skills and a trip is planned and established through their budgeting skills, planning and preparation as a the group learns to develop their decision making skills.

Connecting through Technology

Students develop friendships, use social skills and learn about themselves through this innovative collaboration. Alternating years students have traveled to Chicago or the students from Chicago have visited Boston. Students learn about trip preparation and hosting visitors from out of town.

In addition, students have the opportunity to explore and develop a Service Learning project as a group. Students complete this component over the course of the program

BRIDGE - Structured Living Toward Independence

Designed for a small number of graduates who need to strengthen vocational, independent living, or social skills in a structured campus setting prior to making the move to an apartment and paid employment.

The nine-month, campus-based program provides the ideal setting for small groups of graduates to strengthen the independence and vocational skills learned in their first two years. Student pay simulated rent each month, grocery shop and cooking. Bridge students live with other first and second-year students and follow the same academic calendar. For most students who complete Bridge successfully the next step is Threshold's Transition Year.

Bridge Year Academics

Independent Living Skills

Bridge students take independent living skills courses, which meet weekly and are accompanied by workshops for practicing skills. Student have plenty of opportunity to explore neighborhoods through the use of travel and field trips. Some topics include money management, nutrition and meal planning, food preparation, organizational skills, health and safety, and service learning.

Vocational Skills

Students further their vocational skills with the support of Threshold's Career Services vocational advisor and are placed in a nine-month work experience specific to their individual needs. Students take a weekly workshop on campus and also meet individually and in three-way meetings with on-site supervisors for advising.

Contemporary Issues in Adult Life

Understanding, interpreting and analyzing world and national news issues are at the core of this seminar-style class. Many of the issues are human rights and/or politically oriented, and incorporate multicultural and gender perspectives. Each student subscribes to a newspaper of her or his choice and uses a variety of other news sources for information. Required reading also includes books on current topics. At the end of each semester, students complete a research project.

Additional Course Work

Bridge students participate in a weekly creative arts elective at Threshold. Physical education is offered as a separate elective.

Post-Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid

Admissions

Students participate in an informal admissions process, overseen by the Coordinator of Transition Year, during their second year in the program. Decisions are made by early March.

Transition Year

Students' primary motivation must be the desire to build upon the social, vocational, and life skills learned in Threshold's two-year curriculum and to achieve as much independence as possible. Students must demonstrate readiness to cope with the demands of a minimally structured environment. Acceptances will be determined by the level of performance during the student's second year or Bridge Year at Threshold, as evaluated by Threshold faculty.

Bridge 

Students must have successfully completed the two-year program and be motivated to continue to strengthen skills in a structured environment and develop skills and maturity prior to moving into a minimally structured setting.

Financial Aid

This process should be initiated during the winter preceding enrollment. Limited scholarship assistance is available to those Transition Year and Bridge students who demonstrate significant need. Families are strongly encouraged to contact their local Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for financial assistance, as no federal funding is available. Applicant families should contact Lesley's Financial Aid Office (617-349-8710)

For 2007-2008 Post-Graduate Program Costs, go HERE

Connecting through Technology
Patricia Morrissey, Coordinator Transition/Bridge Year

The Threshold Transition program is a one-year program designed to support Threshold graduates who are living independently in the Cambridge area. This year the Threshold Transition Program at Lesley University has been participating in an exciting new program in collaboration with the Pace Program at National-Louis University in Illinois.  This pilot program uses technology to bring students together who are participating in similar programs.  The Pace Program is a post secondary program for young adults with learning disabilities, which was modeled after the Transition Program at Threshold.

In the fall of 2003 Patricia Morrissey of the Threshold faculty and Marci Stern of the Pace faculty worked together to plan a curriculum to be taught jointly during the spring semester of 2004.  One way to accomplish the goals of the project was for students of both programs to participate in a required evening class in a classroom setting.  This is made possible through technology. Classes on both campuses are held simultaneously. Threshold connects with the Pace students with the use of computers, cameras, microphones and very cutting edge software.  The class takes place in real time with both classes participating via the Internet.

The class was created to empower the students and share information about independent living while making long distance friendships.  Students from both programs explored similarities while discussing the challenges and the values of living independently.  They shared information about the struggles and triumphs regarding employment, money management, maintaining an apartment and leisure time activities.

Another goal of the project was to establish new friendships.  Plans were been made for the Pace students to visit Cambridge on April 30^th, 2004.  A welcome party for the Pace students was hosted on the Lesley University campus.  Threshold students entertained their guests and served as tour guides. The visiting students had the opportunity to share information about organizational skills and independent living by visiting the apartments of Threshold students.

As the program neared an end discussions focused on how the students from Pace and Threshold would stay connected and maintain the friendships that have developed over the course of the semester.  One step toward that goal is already in place. Threshold students were invited to visit National-Louis University in Illinois next spring 2005 to be the guests of the Pace Program. The Threshold students traveled to Chicago to visit the Pace Program the following year in April 2005.  This is an ongoing class from year to year connecting students from each of the programs.