During an 8-month practicum, 41 mildly disabled high school students; their teachers, parents, and counselors; and community business representatives cooperated in defining individual school-to-work transition goals in educational, occupational/career, and social/personal areas. The major aim was to realistically and adequately prepare these special needs students for community life after exiting high school. Techniques used to achieve this goal included student and parent surveys; questionnaires; parent and teacher workshops; restructured curricula; cooperation of community, school, and itinerant personnel; and student-set goals. A review of the literature supports the techniques used. Expected outcomes were: (1) 5 of the 41 eligible students would be formally enrolled in a school-to-work program; (2) 20 of the 38 teachers and aides working directly with the 41 students would be able to correlate at least two specific curriculum goals with the students' transitional plans; (3) parents of 22 of the 41 students would express satisfaction with the transitional plans; and (4) 16 of the 41 students would be able to share one educational, one career/occupational, and one social/personal transitional goal. All outcomes except number 2 were met; only 12 teachers indicated their ability to correlate at least two specific curriculum goals with students' transitional plans. Contains 42 references. Appendices include sample surveys, checklists, and parent newsletters. (SAS)