Sort Every Transition Into Preserve, Reconsider, and Retire
Transition Handoff
Companion to The Child Should Never Experience the Organizational Chart · Updated 2026-09-30
Use this before a student moves to a new grade, school, or support, so the receiving team does not start over. Worked as Tool 5 in “Seven Prototype Tools Put the Ideas to Work in Real Meetings”, in “Make the Seams Disappear for the Child”, with the rule explained in “A Child’s Move to a New Grade Needs a Planned Handoff.”
Name what the student is moving from and to, then sort what the sending team knows into three categories.
- Moving from:
- Moving to:
Preserve, Reconsider, Retire
| Category | What belongs here | Record here |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve | Information, relationships, accommodations, routines, or strategies that remain useful. | |
| Reconsider | Hypotheses or supports that should be tested again in the new context. | |
| Retire | Assumptions, labels, procedures, or accommodations that no longer add value. |
What the Receiving Team Should Know
| Field | Record here |
|---|---|
| What has worked | |
| What has not worked | |
| The student’s strengths | |
| What the family knows that the receiving team should know | |
| Current hypotheses that remain uncertain |
Ownership and Confirmation
| Field | Record here |
|---|---|
| Who owns the handoff | |
| Who on the receiving side confirms receipt and understanding | |
| When the receiving team will check whether the transition actually succeeded |
A transition is successful when the child does not have to start over.
Download
- Download the tables as a spreadsheet (CSV)CSV · 791 B