Senior Project Pilot Gets Underway...

This semester, with the help of Mr. Maccarini who leads our Career Center, ELHS will be piloting an independent project entitled, The Senior Project, with 10 of our seniors.  These seniors will be engaged in a process that first helps them identify an area that they are highly interested in learning more about related to a occupation or field of study of their choice.    Some have chosen topics in sports management, cyber forensics, marketing, nursing, and fashion.

The students will then take part in a four part process that includes 1.  finding a mentor in their field of interest to obtain some "on the job" training  2.  a portfolio of all their work  3.  a research paper with a thesis related to their area of study and 4.  a presentation that will be judged by members of the East Longmeadow community.  During the course of their senior projects, students are paired up with a member of the ELHS staff of their choice to serve as an advisor.  The advisor works to help the student pair up with a mentor, meet deadlines and prepare for the paper and presentation.  

The project was developed to help give our seniors something meaningful to engage in during their last months of high school to hopefully jump start their entrance into college or the work force.  It was also designed to put all their communication, writing, presentation and research skills to a final test as they get ready to head out into the real world.  Lastly, we hope this process will help them make some lasting connections in the local community.