Seniors compile career-based final project
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 27, 2016
LaGRANGE — Troup County School System seniors across the district are gearing up now for their final portfolio before graduation approaches. The portfolio will be a culmination of work centered on components of the Career-Related Capstone Project.
This project is part of an effort to provide all students with an educational experience that prepares them to be college and career ready. It will allow them to reflect on their career goals, research career fields they wish to pursue following high school and compile evidence of career-related experiences. The final project should demonstrate students’ ability to think critically and creatively, communicate effectively and apply their knowledge to real-world issues and scenarios.
“For the Capstone, students are required to have a mentor that they work with for at least eight hours throughout the school year. It’s important because the students get to choose their mentor,” said Penny Johnson, director of secondary education for TCSS. “It can be a family member who owns a business or someone they know, but we are really encouraging them to step outside of their sphere of influence to obtain a mentor. This person will then give them insight into their area of interest before they move into the next phase of their life.”
Several ways Johnson suggested mentors, community partners and business owners can get involved is through interactive dialogue with a student who has an interest in their career field. With over 500 seniors seeking mentors, an interested person can even mentor students in group settings so it invites collaboration as it would in the business environment.
She stresses that the mentorship is not a job shadow, but an alternative way for students to get a feel for their career of choice.
“Let’s say a student approaches an area physician about becoming a mentor,” Johnson said. “While we know a job shadow may not be feasible, the physician can host a Skype session with the student or a group of students. They can also provide career-related reading materials that may require a phone call discussion or email communication between the mentor and mentee.”
In addition to the eight hour mentorship component, other elements within the Career-Related Capstone Project are research paper and journals; portfolio including resume, academic work samples and mentor agreement; evidence of career-related experiences and final presentation.
Each portion will be completed and graded at various intervals throughout the school year in 12th grade British literature and economics courses. The final presentation of the project will be in spring 2017.
Students will display their presentations in front of a panel of community leaders and business owners. This is an opportunity for seniors to showcase their findings and share what they have learned through the career project based experience.
To learn more about Troup County School System, visit troup.org and the Troup County School System Facebook page.