Student Graduation Project

  • Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' (CMS) students will continue to work on the project as a local graduation requirement. High school juniors and seniors are responsible for specific graduation project components. This requirement will count as part of the total grade in their English class, a course required for graduation. Visit Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools BoardDocs to review the policies below:

      • Graduation Requirements Policy – Policy IKF
      • Graduation Requirements Regulations – Policy IKF-R

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  • The Graduation Project has four parts: a research paper, product, portfolio, and oral presentation before a review board. These four components are a culmination of the entire high school experience. To complete the Graduation Project, students will apply skills needed to succeed in post-secondary education and careers. The project requires students to demonstrate what they know and what they can do with the skills acquired in high school. (Students will still be required to achieve proficiency on five End-of-Course tests to graduate.)

    The four components:

    1. A research paper demonstrating research and writing skills (completed in the junior year).
    2. A Service Learning Experience (SLE) product that demonstrates the use of knowledge and skills in a meaningful way to accomplish a goal (to be completed in the senior year).
    3. An oral presentation, during which students become a source of information communicating their project work before a review panel (to be completed in the senior year).
    4. A portfolio to catalog/document tasks, record reflective thinking and insights, and demonstrate responsibility for learning as work progresses through the entire process (to be kept throughout the process).

    In addition to the student requirements, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools is committed to making this experience meaningful and relevant to students by involving the community in mentoring and serving on review boards for the project. If you are interested in serving as a mentor or review board volunteer, please contact Roxanne Friday at 980-343-2790.

    Prospective volunteers will also need to complete a CMS Volunteer Application.

    Tips

    When choosing a paper topic, it is smart to think about the service product you can create. Your service product and topic should be closely related. For example, you may work on both the research topic and product simultaneously.

    Your portfolio is a collection of evidence of your research, the effort put into the SLE product, artifacts from your work, and any documentation you have collected.

    In your presentation, focus on these three things:

    • What did you learn from your research and service learning?
    • What impact did you make on your community as a result?
    • How has the Graduation Project changed you?