Each year spent with a student with special needs is the first year of a chain of subsequent years, like a line of dominoes. EXCEPT, there are multiple lines of dominoes and a teacher may be tipping over the first domino in a line of several possible lines of dominoes. One line may topple towards community college and another towards a job, with no college.
Each year impacts the future, yet we often only see that one year in isolation. We see only the next domino.