Senior Project Going Away?

In something of an irony, a senior doing her senior project did it on...getting rid of the senior proejct.

From the News Tribune:

If Gov. Jay Inslee signs Senate Bill 6552 into law next week, and if school districts decide to use their new option to eliminate the project, seniors in the class of 2015 would be the first to avoid the extra work.

“The bill goes into effect in 2015, so if everything goes right, then next year, this year’s juniors won’t have to do it,” said Stewart, a 17-year-old senior at East Valley High School near Yakima. “I’ve had the juniors and the sophomores and even some of the freshmen come up to me and give me a hug or a high five.”

Don’t celebrate yet, kids.

Districts would have to change their policies. Many are “deeply invested in it,” said Ben Rarick, executive director of the State Board of Education, while others view it “as a compliance hurdle.”

I'll have to ask SPS on Monday what their reaction will be.

There are no statewide standards for projects. Each district sets its own rules.

SPS requires community service hours which is also not a statewide standard.  

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/03/28/3122597/student-hopes-victory-in-legislature.html?sp=/99/296/#storylink=cpy

Comments

Eric M said…
In SPS, each school sets its own rules. The senior project at most schools has ceased to have any existence beyond a project wrapped into a class like history that every student has to take.

To do the project right requires staffing and supervision that SPS schools just do not have.

The state legislature has a pretty good track record of adopting new shiny mandates for schools without any funding, playing with them for about as long as a candy necklace interests a 3-year-old, and then on to the next shiny thing. They've lost interest in the senior project. Common Core, I bet, will be the same.
Kate Martin said…
I found Senior Projects and Community Service to be very unsupported. If we are to have such requirements, we need the clock time and supervision at school to make it a useful endeavor for all students. Regular meetings to plan, check in supervision for progress, opportunities to make course corrections to keep on track, and more. Without those things, it's just another exercise in parental intervention for those who are able to bring that to the table.
Anonymous said…
It would be nice if public schools in WA State could all be on the same page when it comes to something as basic as awarding a high school diploma.

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