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Component
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Details
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Definition
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TheÌý2f. High School Capstone ProjectÌýis a culminating assignment typically completed by students at the end of their final year of study in high school or college. Capstone Projects may be based in any academic subject area. Students typically create a portfolio, a final product, presentation, or performance.
- High quality Capstone Projects are designed to encourage students to develop and assess:
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Civic action
- Skills like communication, research, teamwork, and planning
- Examples of Civic Actions
- Organizing meetings or petitions to change school rules or local policies.
- Lobbying legislators for law changes.
- Creating social media campaigns or writing editorials on community issues.
- Launching mental health awareness campaigns.
- Starting community gardens or other sustainable initiatives.
- Implementation Best Practices
- Integrate the project into a dedicated civics course or independent study.
- Assign faculty advisors to provide feedback and mentoring.
- Partner with community organizations for authentic civic engagement.
- Evaluation
- Use rubrics aligned with Capstone Essential Elements for formative and summative assessments.
- Provide benchmarks and timelines for project completion.
- Develop guidelines for evaluating student portfolios, if used as a summative assessment.
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Seal of Civic Readiness Committee Responsibilities
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- Appoints a team to design and evaluate the Capstone Project.
- Develops and oversees project timelines, structures, and evaluation tools.
- Collaborates with community partners and ensures compliance with locally developed Capstone guidelines.
- Provides formative and summative feedback using rubrics aligned with Essential Elements.
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Teacher Responsibilities
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- Guide and mentor students through identifying and researching a civic issue.
- Support students in applying Civic Knowledge, Skills and Actions, and Mindset.
- Facilitate reflective learning, action planning, and community engagement.
- Assist students with portfolio creation and provide professional feedback.
- Participate in professional development for Capstone implementation and portfolio design.
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Student Responsibilities
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- Complete a Civic Readiness Capstone Project to demonstrate readiness for civic engagement.
- Identify, research, and analyze a civic issue in their school or community.
- Develop and implement a Service Action Plan or Detailed Action Plan to address the issue.
- Reflect on their civic identity, lessons learned, and future actions.
- Present their project to the School Civic Readiness Committee.
- Optional:ÌýCompile a portfolio documenting research, action, reflections, and project artifacts.Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýÌý
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Resources
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