The Culminating Project (or Senior Project) is both a district and state graduation requirement. This project includes an in-depth study of a topic of interest and a presentation on that topic. Students should view this project as an opportunity to:

• Explore a topic that the student feels passionate about or will connect to their future
• Study something that they have not had the chance to before
• Study a topic that they would like to explore in a more in-depth manner
• Serve the community
• Network in the community, outside of school and family via field advisors, businesses, agencies

Demonstrating the Student’s Abilities
The culminating project became a state requirement for graduation because it is a way to combine and demonstrate a student’s previous educational experiences in one concrete project. This project shows the student’s ability to:

• Understand and organize information from a variety of sources
• Interpret information meaningfully and communicate the meaning to others
• Set goals and manage their time
• Solve problems and make good decisions

Because this project needs to display each student’s individual learning, each student must develop his or her own project.

Support and Assistance
Students will receive assistance from teachers and mentors throughout the course of their project. Advisors and/or culminating project teachers will check in with each student to ensure that he or she is not falling behind schedule. Teachers will track each student’s progress and make the final approval of project assignments. In addition, each student will connect with a field expert, a community member over the age of 21 who has expertise in one or more of the major components of the student’s project. All of these people assist the student in the completion of their project.

Samples of Successful Projects
The culminating project is flexible and caters to the subject areas that interest each individual student. Here are a few samples of the types of projects that have been completed in the past:

• Design and write code for a Web site
• Take classes on manual photography from a local community center and create a photo portfolio work
• Create an original music composition for an ensemble and have it performed
• Research finance management, then develop a mock investment portfolio and investment plan
• Intern in a veterinary clinic and create a resource guide for cat owners on feline diseases
• Study gourmet cooking through a research and field experience, learning about design, preparation, and serving of traditional French cuisine
• Create a health and fitness plan that prepares you to run a marathon, then follow the plan and compete
• Rebuild a garage as part of a field experience

EdProps – How Parents Can Support Their Senior
Parents at some of our high schools can support their senior who is working on a culminating project by tracking their progress on EdProps, the Educational Project Planning System. Some high schools are using alternative methods to track student progress. Check with your child’s school to find out what system is being used.

With EdProps, students keep track of their progress, helping them stay on schedule. The EdProps system contains:

• Important documents
• Due dates
• Announcements
• Opportunities to submit project status reports and the project plan electronically

Parents and students will also see feedback on the work the student has done so far, and learn what they must still complete to graduate. High schools provide parents of seniors with individual log-ins for the EdProps system.