Graduation Project
Berwick Area School District

Project Proposal

1. The total number of high school teachers will divide the student population. Each teacher will be assigned this number of students as advisees. Once a student has been assigned an advisor, he or she will remain with this advisor until graduation unless changed by the supervisor. Each year, the incoming ninth-graders will be divided among the teachers who have advised the previous year's seniors. Students entering the district will be assigned an advisor by the supervisor.

2. A designated classroom or work area will be assigned to advisors and their advisees. Students will meet with advisors during scheduled activity periods throughout the year. The supervisor will work with the Graduation Committee to plan activities for each activity period and will distribute materials to advisors. Students may also use this time to individually discuss the graduation project or course selections with the advisor.

3. At least one class period per marking period will be designated as an activity period for the project. The assignment of class periods will be at the discretion of the principal and supervisor.

4. Students will be involved in a series of activities in grades 9-11 to complete the project. At the end of the third marking period, the English teacher and advisor will send a progress report home to the parents of students who have received an "unsatisfactory" rating on their report cards. If the student does not complete the components of the project by the end of the school year, the principal may take appropriate actions.

Students must successfully complete all components of the project and write a term paper. The English teacher will grade the term paper and submit the papers of students who received passing grades to the advisor. The students will then be scheduled for an exit interview. Students who do not receive a passing grade on the term paper will revise their term papers until they are satisfactory. Students are ineligible to be scheduled for an exit interview until the advisor receives a satisfactory term paper. The term paper will not be grades by the advisor and will not be used as criteria for grading the exit interview. The advisor will use the term paper as a resource for the exit interview.

5. An evaluation team will conduct a formal exit interview during the spring of the student's junior year. If an unsatisfactory review is received, a second interview must be scheduled before the end of the first semester of the senior year. If the student's work still does not meet approval, parents will be called to school for a conference. A completed, approved project will be required before the end of the third marking period of the senior year or a diploma will not be issued.

6. The evaluation team for graduation projects will be comprised of three members. The advisor will be one member of the panel. Two other members may include other faculty, administrators, or community representatives. At least two members of the evaluation team must "sign-off" on the exit interview in order for it to be approved.

7. The responsibilities of the supervisor shall include:

• Overseeing the work of the Graduation Committee and setting up and operating the exit interview process
• Assigning students to advisors
• Assigning members of the evaluation teams
• Tracking students progress and providing the guidance department with a list of seniors who have not successfully completed the graduation project by the end of the junior and senior years
• Organizing staff development and maintaining good public relations
• Distributing materials for activity periods

8. The responsibilities of the English teacher shall include:

• Providing the names of students who have not completed the appropriate components of the project to the guidance counselors and the supervisor
• Introducing concepts of resume writing and technical correspondence through the ninth-grade writing program
• Introducing the mechanics of writing a term paper and grading the project term paper
• Submitting passing papers to advisors who will use the papers as a source of reference during the exit interview
• Tracking student progress and issuing progress reports to parents if components of the project are not completed on time
• Communicating with parents and school authorities when necessary concerning progress of the project
• Teaching and assisting students to ensure that the requirements of the graduation project can be successfully completed
• Issuing and evaluating interest inventories with the students
• Managing and keeping records of students progress

9. The responsibilities of the advisor shall include:

• Facilitating activity periods
• Advising students on career choices
• Making general recommendations for courses
• Helping students make pathways selections
• Assisting the student in preparing for his/her exit interview
• Guiding the student in locating appropriate resources.

10. The responsibilities of the evaluation team shall include:

• Reading the graded term paper
• Attending and evaluating the exit interview using the appropriate rubric
• Providing comments and recommendations to all presenters, but most importantly to those whose projects have been judged "unsatisfactory" (A set of possible interview questions will be provided for the team.)

11. The responsibilities of the guidance counselor will include:

• Keeping records of progress reports issued to students making unsatisfactory progress
• Attending conferences with the student and parents if needed
• Assuring that the aptitude tests are administered
• Ensuring that career guidance information is available to all students and teachers.

12. The responsibilities of the student shall include:

• Successfully completing the graduation project required for graduation
• Submitting all necessary components of the graduation project to the English teacher on time, which, if not done, will result in a progress report that will remain in effect until satisfactory components are submitted.
• Successfully writing and receiving a passing grade on the graduation project term paper. Term papers that do not receive a passing grade will be revised until the paper is satisfactory
• Successfully completing an exit interview conducted by the evaluating team by the end of their junior year. Students who do not successfully receive a passing grade on the graduation term paper and satisfactorily complete the exit interview, will not graduate.