School Board approves new culminating experience for high school seniors

The Shoreline School Board has unanimously approved a new culminating experience for high school seniors, beginning with the class of 2014, this year’s junior class.

The state requires that each high school student shall complete a culminating project for graduation, but leaves it up to districts to implement this requirement.

Shorecrest (senior projects) and Shorewood (culminating exhibitions) have previously had different culminating experiences. Since the new unified District high school graduation requirements were adopted in December 2011, there has been consensus to create one uniform experience at both schools.

Since that time, the District has embarked on a college and career readiness framework to assist students with their post high school plan.  The online program Naviance will aid as a tool for students to gather and store information, and now the Board has approved connecting the college and career readiness framework with a common senior culminating experience.

The college and career readiness framework provides students a series of middle school and high school experiences culminating in a high school and beyond plan and student portfolio housed within Naviance.

“This requires a refocus of priorities,” said Superintendent Sue Walker. “We have limited resources and we want to use them to help us meet our top priorities. To ensure that all graduates succeed in college, career and life, greater attention is needed to help our seniors put a plan in place and implement that plan.”

The culminating experience for Shorecrest and Shorewood seniors will now be comprised of the high school and beyond plan housed in Naviance, along with the completion (and verification by the District) of a post-secondary application to one of the following:

• 2 or 4-year college;
• Technical/trade school;
• Apprenticeship or internship
• Career track employment.
• Military;
• Other approved post-secondary option.

In terms of tracking students’ progress, the following will be required as part of the post-secondary application:

• Application to college/university/apprenticeship/trade school/military or other approved option;
• Completed FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and/or scholarship application;
• Letter(s) of recommendation (for those colleges or employers that require them);
• College or other application essay;
• Annotated bibliography evidencing the college/career search process• Completion of a college entrance exam or equivalent;
• Collected artifacts from the student’s process (such as photos of college and/or industry visits, brochures, business cards, email correspondence, etc.);
• Reflection letter regarding the student’s experiences, outcomes and fifth year plan of the high school and beyond plan.

Each individual senior meets/presents his or her plan to a counselor, teacher, advisor, or group. Students are scored using a rubric to make sure all requirements meet standard. Student plans are stored and tracked within Naviance in order to create student data regarding post-high-school destinations of graduating seniors.