SENIOR PROJECT

The student-initiated program provides seniors an opportunity to conclude their educational experience and graduation requirements by:
-Providing community service to an area in or around Scotch Plains and/or Fanwood.
- Engage in an internship with a local merchant, businessperson, or other organization for the purpose of career   exploration.
- Engage in a self-directed project.

General Timeline
JANUARY: Students notified of project.
FEBRUARY:  Phase I Application Due. 
End of April:  Students notified to continue with Phase II Application.
APRIL/May:   Students notified of Project Status.

Project begins after AP Testing through the last student day in June.

Due April :  Phase I Application   (3:00 PM)

CLASS OF 2023
Document for Printing:  Guidelines and Expectations

PURPOSE:
The student-initiated program provides seniors an opportunity to conclude their educational experience and graduation requirements by:
1. Providing community service to an area in or around Scotch Plains and/or Fanwood.
2. Engage in an internship with a local merchant, businessperson, or other organization for the purpose of career exploration.
3. Engage in a Self-directed project.

CRITERIA:
The community service/internship must be:
1. Approved by the school principal.
2. In the form of a non-remunerative service to an organization and/or the community that connects to the student’s career aspirations.
3. For an organization/firm where the student has had no outside relationship with the employer.

DURATION OF PROJECT:
The experience would begin in late May and conclude on the last student day in June. Furthermore, students would be required to submit materials (in a form of their choice) reflecting on their experience and how it has benefited them.

ELIGIBILITY:
1. Students must have an all course GPA of 2.5 or higher calculated after the third marking period of their senior year. A student must have a “C” or better in all classes for each marking period in which they are enrolled.
2. Any student who has been assigned out-of-school suspension during their senior year is not eligible.
3. Any student who has exceeded eight (8) absences and four (4) tardies by the first day of the program will not be eligible.
4. All exceptions to the eligibility guidelines will be reviewed by the principal.

TYPE OF PROJECTS:
Experiences can include, but are certainly not limited to the following: (All must demonstrate a career connection)
1. Community Service: Nursing homes, police departments, libraries, recreation department, parks department, hospitals, houses of worship, and any other not for profit organization in the area.
2. Internship: Local merchants, accountants, law offices, schools within the district, banks (financial institutions), restaurants, and other local business and organizations.
3. The self-directed component would involve the students engaging in a project of their own interest. It could be in the form of a written paper, final product, activity, demonstration, etc.

RULES, EXPECTATIONS, AND PROCEDURES:
1. Student applications must provide the following information: project description/proposal, project goals, project location, methods of achieving goals, rationale for selecting this option and project. The quality of the application is a significant consideration.
2. Students must work 25 hours a week with a minimum of 4 hours a day. This does not include lunch.
3. A maximum of two absences will be permitted from the program regardless of the nature. Any more than two absences will result in expulsion from the program and a return to traditional classroom activity. Students must inform Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School and their community resource when absent.
4. Students will be required to attend meetings, which will give the school an opportunity to inform students of any upcoming events. These meetings will also serve as an opportunity for students to report on the progress of their program.
5. Students are required to maintain a journal of daily activities related to the achievement of project goals. The journal must be turned in when required.
6. Students will undergo continuous monitoring. This monitoring will consist of evaluation of student journals, employer evaluations of students, random on-site checks, and random telephone checks. The following criteria will be the basis for the evaluation/monitoring: attendance, tardiness, attitude, cooperation, attainment of goals, and quality of work.
7. Students will be required to sign a contract containing the expectations of the program.
8. All exceptions to the above rules and expectations must be approved by the principal.
9. Students planning to serve in an educational internship at the high school must be enrolled in the Tomorrow’s Teachers Course. Tomorrow’s Teachers’ students may not serve their internship with a faculty member who was a former teacher of theirs. Students not enrolled in Tomorrow’s Teachers and serving an educational internship at the elementary or middle school must demonstrate a commitment to the profession via the application. All mentors will be assigned. All educational internships will be virtual.

FINAL EVALUATION:
1. The final evaluation will be in the form of a reflection. The reflectionwill summarize and highlight the experience and serve as closure to the project. The final evaluation can be in any form (video, written report, Collage, or other form).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
1. Students that are removed from the program will be required to make up missed work from their traditional classes at the teachers’ convenience. This could jeopardize the student’s ability to graduate.
2. Students involved in co-curricular and extra-curricular (sports) activities will still be eligible to participate.
3. It is the students’ responsibility to keep informed of all upcoming activities. Most of this information will be conveyed through meetings and postings on the district website-high school page, email, and social media.
4. It is the students’ responsibility to provide their own transportation to and from their Senior Project location. Students may drive their own vehicle (automobile) or be driven by a parent to the workplace. The principal must approve any other means of transportation.
5. If the student is received a grade of a “D” or lower in any class/marking period, they will not be eligible to participate in the program.
6. Any group or organization must demonstrate adherence to the CDC guidelines (re: Covid-19) for the project to be approved.