BRUNSWICK, Maine — Kate Lord didn’t have a plan when she graduated from Brunswick High School in 2014. For two years, she was unemployed. Eventually, her father was able to use his connections at Bowdoin College to get her a job working in a kitchen. For 20 hours a week, she lines muffin pans and preps dessert trays. At this time, the bakery job suffices. Kate is a hard worker and a pleasure to be around, her supervisor said. But she has no interest in the food industry. Her father believes she could do a lot more, and wishes her high school had done more to help her visualize her future and then take steps to reach her goals. Read more here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/special-education-transition_us_5a341a65e4b0ff955ad2b810.

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, in partnership with HuffPost. Read the whole series, “Willing, Able and Forgotten: How High Schools Fail Special Ed Students,” here.