Student Outlook -- Kellie Brownell
In 1999, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District mandated that all
seniors complete a senior project in order to graduate. The idea for the
project -- composed of an essay, oral presentation and portfolio -- was
originally created by an educational company, FarWest EDGE. Corona del
Mar, Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools quickly adopted the new
requirement into their senior English classes, joining hundreds of
schools across the nation that have followed suit according to district
orders.
Newport Harbor High School, however, sat on the project and is now
scrambling to find a way to integrate this requirement for the graduating
class of 2003.
Earlier this year, the social studies department proposed a solution
-- the Graduation Development Program -- intended to make the senior
project the culmination of four years of personal exploration and
development.
From freshman year, students would be assorted into classes of 25
students each and would be under the guidance of one of the school’s many
teachers. The program was designed not only to alleviate the burden of
the senior project from one department, but also to give the project a
deeper meaning and relevance to the students’ lives.
A committee of juniors was organized by the program designers with the
philosophy that the best way to do the senior project right for our
student body was to have students contribute to its development.
Unfortunately, the program was voted down by the rest of the faculty,
leaving the senior project to wallow some more in the administration’s
office before being tossed to the English teachers.
However, many of the students who were on the original Graduation
Development Program committee are not willing to give up their voice in
the development of the senior project.
Junior Lucas Parker quickly organized the Senior Project Awareness
club in hopes of communicating to the administration and the district
what the students feel is necessary in creating a meaningful project.
Although perhaps contrary to our stereotype, the members of the club
are not against the extra work that will naturally accompany the senior
project. In fact, the majority of us look forward to the opportunity to
research an area of interest in a college thesis format.
We feel strongly that our experiences as students at Newport Harbor
High could greatly contribute to making the senior project beneficial for
all levels of the academic spectrum. Although decisions of this sort are
typically solidified without the input of students, we hope that
accommodations will be made to a highly concerned group of juniors who
are taking action before the administration even has answers to our
questions.
We are going to have our share of graduation requirements in the
upcoming year, and now is the opportunity to transform one of them into a
meaningful experience that will influence students’ lives even after they
leave high school.
* KELLIE BROWNELL is a junior at Newport Harbor High School, where she
is editor-in-chief of the Beacon. Her columns will appear occasionally in
the Community Forum section.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.