1.  I have freshmen and sophomores in my class.  Which workbooks should I buy?

Count the number of freshmen in your class.  Then purchase as many phase 1 workbooks as you have freshmen. Next year, you will need to buy Phase 2 workbooks for this year’s freshmen.

For current sophomores who are just beginning the Starting Line program, purchase one Fast Track workbooks for each sophomore. This is the only workbook you will need to purchase for the student because the Fast Track workbook is designed to be used all the way to graduation. Note: You may want to purchase a few extra of both manuals to have on hand (new students, student loss, etc.)

2.  Can I use the Phase 1 workbook with my 18-21 year old students?

No, the phase 1 booklet is designed to help freshmen explore their wants, interests, strengths, and needs. The Fast Track should be used when you start the program with any other group.

3.  Does every student need their own copy of the Phases workbooks or the Fast Track workbook?

Yes, students are participating in the four phase program will need one workbook each year from their freshmen to senior years: Phase 1—freshmen, Phase 2—sophomores, Phase 3—juniors, Phase 4—seniors.

Yes, each student or young adult participating in the Fast Track program will need one Fast Track workbook in order to complete the program.

4.  Do students have to complete all the activities in the Fast Track workbook?

For students who are beginning the Fast Track workbook in their sophomore or junior years (or young adults with more than one year to complete a program), it is best for them to develop a plan that will allow them to complete all activities in the Fast Track workbook.

For students who are beginning the Fast Track in their senior year (or young adults who have one year to complete a program), the teacher and students should work together to decide which activities to complete and which activities to skip.

5.  What tools are available to help students who have difficult reading the Starting Line materials?

We have developed free audio/visual recordings for each activity in the Starting Line program (Phases and Fast Track).

If you'd like access to activities audio/visual program for your students or young adults, contact Ten Sigma at 800-657-3815 or by email at info@tensigma.org.

We will provide each student or young adult with access to the audio visual recordings using a password protected login.

6.  What happens when students lose any part of their workbooks?

For times when students lose parts or all of their Fast Track workbooks, the teacher may use another copy of the Fast track to reproduce the workbook for the student.  If the teacher has assigned their students access to the Fast Track workbook recordings (online), students can log in to the site and download any lost pages.

To help prevent loss of important work, we recommend that students or young adults store their completed activities in their binders and keep their binders in safe locations such as a classroom or at home.  In this scenario, students will only remove the activity they are working at the time, so if they lose that activity they can simply get a copy of that activity and redo the assignment.

7.  What to do for students or young adults participating in the Fast Track program who have IEP meetings before December?

Having an IEP meeting before December makes it more difficult for students to properly explore and refine their options, identify their postsecondary goals, and prepare a plan for reaching them in a short period of time.

Therefore, if students have IEP meetings before December, we recommend that teachers use the timelines/checklists (located in the Fast Track Teacher's Guide) and meet with their students to develop a plan that best suits the situation and needs of each student.

In certain situations, it may be best for students or young adults to skip directly to Unit two and then identify and write their postsecondary goals to the best of their ability.

At a minimum, we recommend completing pages 101 to 108 in the Fast Track workbook.

8.  What can teachers do to track progress for students or young adults with little or no direct instruction time?

The Fast Track Teacher's Guide is available to purchase in print or as a free PDF download.   The Teacher's Guide contains checklists and timelines for each grade level that includes recommendations for when to complete each activity based on the amount of time each student has before graduating or completing the program.

When a student or young adult first begins the program, we recommend that a teacher meets with them to identify which activities will be completed and when they will be completed.  Then provide each student with a copy of the timeline to track his or her progress while the teacher keeps the original copy for their records.

We also recommend regular “check-in meetings” with students or young adults to monitor progress and update the student's plan.