Educator Support

Supporting the Transition Journey

Educators play a vital role in preparing students with disabilities for the shift from high school to college and beyond. The following categories offer guidance on how educators can support students and families through this process.

Family Roles in College Planning

While students grow into greater independence, families still play a critical support role—especially during the planning phase. Educators can help families gradually step back while still staying informed and supportive.

Encourage families to build skills with their student such as:

  • Navigating transportation and housing options
  • Completing college applications and financial aid forms
  • Preparing for healthcare and self-advocacy responsibilities

Recommended resources include:

Financing for College

Paying for college is one of the most important — and often most confusing — parts of the college journey. Students and families benefit from understanding how to apply for financial aid, search for scholarships, and create a realistic college budget.

Encourage students and their families to explore federal, state, and institutional financial aid opportunities. Early preparation helps ensure that students with disabilities have access to all available support, including accommodations that may affect eligibility or program costs.

Several trusted Minnesota organizations provide tools and guides to simplify the financial planning process for higher education.

Explore Support Resources

Customized Employment: Career Exploration

Career exploration is a critical step in helping students identify meaningful work that aligns with their strengths, interests, and goals. Within Minnesota State Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, supporting special populations in discovering career pathways and employment opportunities is a key part of preparing learners for successful transitions into the workforce. Career exploration activities provide students with opportunities to learn about different occupations, understand workplace expectations, and connect their education to real-world career options.

Customized employment focuses on matching a student’s interests, abilities, and support needs with the needs of an employer. Through activities such as job tours, job shadowing, informational interviews, volunteer experiences, and work-based learning, students can explore potential career paths while developing important employability skills. These experiences help educators, career counselors, and employment specialists better understand the conditions under which students thrive and identify opportunities that lead to competitive, integrated employment.

The following resource provides strategies and examples for supporting customized employment career exploration for students in postsecondary settings. To view the full guide and related materials, visit:

Customized Employment Career Exploration Resource

Career Exploration Worksheet

Choosing a career is a process that begins with exploring your interests, strengths, and experiences. Career exploration activities help you learn about different types of work, the skills they require, and the environments where people do those jobs.

This worksheet is designed to help students begin thinking about possible career paths and reflect on their skills and interests. Through a series of short activities, students will explore different ways to learn about careers, including online career tools, job shadowing, informational interviews, and volunteer experiences.

Students may wish to begin by exploring careers through the following trusted websites:

  • O*NET Online – A free career exploration website that helps users learn about occupations, job duties, skills, tools, work environments, and education or training needs.
  • CareerOneStop – A free career resource with career exploration tools, job search information, and career videos.
  • My Next Move – Explore careers based on your interests and learn about job tasks and skills.
  • Minnesota Career & Education Explorer – Learn about wages, job demand, and training programs in Minnesota.

These resources are free to use and do not require creating an account before getting started.

After exploring a few careers, students can complete the worksheet below to reflect on what they learned.

Career Exploration Worksheet: Open the Career Exploration Worksheet

Students are encouraged to write their thoughts and ideas as they complete each section. There are no right or wrong answers. The goal is to help students become more aware of their interests and begin identifying skills they already have that can be developed for future employment.

This worksheet may be completed online or printed for use in classrooms, transition programs, or career exploration activities. It can also be used as a starting point for building a career portfolio and developing résumé skills.

Student Career Exploration Scenario Worksheet

This worksheet helps students explore career interests, strengths, and possible next steps toward employment. Students will read about Emmitt’s career journey and reflect on what they can learn from his experience. Career exploration activities like this help students think about the kinds of work environments, skills, and supports that may help them succeed in the workplace.

As students complete the worksheet, they will consider their own interests, strengths, and goals while learning how persistence, teamwork, and support systems can play an important role in career development.

Students can type their responses directly into the worksheet and then print the page or save it as a PDF when they are finished.

Open the Job Scenario Student Worksheet