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Presenters

Scott LaFever- Principal, Meridian Early College High School

Jennifer Nosakowski- CTE Teacher & Senior Project Coordinator

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Session Goal

Explore how Meridian’s Senior Capstone integrates job shadowing, portfolios and personalized projects aligned to students’ EDPs.

Attendees will learn how to design, implement, and sustain a meaningful capstone experience that builds career readiness and student ownership.
This session is designed for school leaders looking to integrate capstone projects into the school year and establish them as a graduation requirement.

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Session Overview

1) Why capstones matter

2) Meridian model and implementation

3) Student artifacts and examples

4) Next steps for adoption

Core message: A well-designed senior capstone connects students' learning to their next step — career, college, or citizenship — and can replace narrow end-of-course testing with a meaningful, graduation requirement.

Google Slides Presentation:

bit.ly/3SfJ9NG

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Meridian Public Schools

Located in Midland County
Rural population
Around 1,400 students K-12
50% economic disadvantaged

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Our Mission:

Educate and support every student to succeed in their career and life by developing an environment that fosters curiosity and lifelong learning.

Our Vision:

Mustangs are empowered to be resilient and fearless learners, in order to thrive in an ever-changing world.

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Reach Higher!

If our students are to thrive in the world today, then they must participate in some education or training beyond high school.

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Outcomes that Matter

MECHS Graduates will:

ATTEND College Programming OR Vocational Programming
COMPLETE Senior Capstone Project + 40 hours of community service and/or 70 hours college and career exploration
POSSESS strong oral communication, written communication, agency, and collaboration skills

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High Expectations for ALL

College Partnership:

Delta College/Mid Michigan College

FREE Tuition, fees, books, and M-F bus transportation

Vocational/Career Partnerships (over 30 options):

On Campus Early College AND Career Technical Programming (Engineering and Biomedical Science)
Bay Arenac Career Center (BACC) + Midland County CTE + GMCA + State Street Lineman Academy

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90%

Of MECHS seniors were

dual enrolled

completing coursework in a CTE/WBL program

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The Why: Capstones bridge learning to next steps

Capstone projects help students reflect on their learning experiences throughout high school. This includes the projects and programming that they completed along the way.

Meridian learners reflect on the following question:

Am I on the correct path?

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EDP integration: Turn compliance into lived experience

Lead insight: Use the Educational Development Plan (EDP) as the spine for capstone choices.

• Align capstone goals with students’ EDP outcomes and graduation requirements

• School leaders must create a system where instructional time is allocated to develop the capstone with adult mentors.

• All students create an authentic and relevant project, something actionable that helps give back to the community.

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Meridian Advisory Program

25 minute period meets 3x per week

Different focus each year:

9th Grade: Freshman Success
10th Grade: Career Exploration
11th Grade: Postsecondary Planning
12th Grade: Senior Project/Senior Portfolio

Complete four years of Advisory = Completion of Community Service / Career Exploration requirement

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Deep Dive: Senior Advisory

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Meridian Senior Advisory Framework: Three components

12th grade Advisory = Senior Portfolio & Project

Senior Portfolio- Highlight knowledge, skills, & mindset learned throughout high school that apply to next steps
Job Shadow- Career Path exploration & networking
Personalized Project- Authentic application of knowledge, skills & mindset within Career Path

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Component 1 — The Portfolio: Requirements & Purpose

Senior Portfolio- Highlight knowledge, skills, & mindset learned throughout high school that apply to next steps (Semester 1)

Home Page
Showcase Page
Personal Interests & Achievements
Cover Letter & Resume
Letters of Recommendation

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Component 2 — The Job Shadow: Requirements & Logistics

Senior Job Shadow- Career Path exploration & networking (Semester 1- 2)

Half to Full Day Shadow
Observe
Ask Questions

Take Notes
Track Skills

Reflection

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Component 2 — The Job Shadow: Requirements & Logistics

Senior Job Shadow- Career Path exploration & networking (Semester 1- 2)

Start conversations early
Network:

Family, family friends, teachers, etc.
Local Organizations
Local Businesses

Workplace Professionalism
Parent Permission & School Excusal
Informs Senior Project

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Component 3 — The Personalized Project: Requirements & Purpose

Personalized Project- Authentic application of knowledge, skills & mindset within Career Path (Semester 2)

Re-Establish the Path Essay
Career Research Presentation
Mentor Meeting & Project Proposal

Agreement, Pacing, Feedback

Project Completion
Mentor Post-Project Assessment
Project Reflection

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Component 3 — The Personalized Project: Requirements & Purpose

Personalized Project- Authentic application of knowledge, skills & mindset within Career Path (Semester 2)

Related to Career Path
Experienced Mentor
Authentic & Challenging
Goal-Setting

End Product

Problem-solve
Create, program, build
Plan, organize, restructure

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Exit Interview: Presentation Structure

Exit Interview- Present Portfolio & Project to selected panel (3 weeks- Mid April)

Approx. 20 minutes

10-15 min. Student Presents + 10 min. Panel Q&A/Feedback

During School Day (30 minute blocks)

Assigned Interview Date & Time

Coordinate Panel Availability & Student Schedule

Two designated panel members ( 1 Admin + Teacher)
Student invites trusted adults

Mentor, family members, advisor, teacher, community member, etc.

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Panel Final Audit

Assessment focus:

Clarity of learning targets
Evidence in the portfolio
Ability to connect work to

postsecondary plans

Admin Approval

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Roles & Support Systems

Coordinator responsibilities:

Manage timeline, LMS, documents, job shadow excusal, project approval
Train evaluators, support all 12th grade advisories (advisors & students)
Curate community partners & communicate with leadership team

Advisory structure:

Embed mentorship, scheduled check-ins & feedback
Grade level advisories build toward to Senior Portfolio & Project

Leadership supports:

Allocate staffing & create calendar windows
Adopt rubrics into policy
Additional student supports

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Showcasing student work:

Stories of Success:

Josie- Refinement of career choice.
Kayla- Effort and benefit to our community

Feel free to check out the examples.

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Common Frustrations

Our work is not perfect!

Time Management: Let’s be real, we’re working with high school seniors.
Closed-Mindedness: Some students struggle to see how careers are connected. They become laser-focused on a singular career and miss out on possible connections with local experts. *This challenge has led to some success stories!
Projects that lack connection to the community are unrelated to the EDP. This occurs due to a communication breakdown or procrastination.

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Discussion prompt: What barriers would you face?

Identify the top 1–2 barriers in your context (scheduling, staffing, assessment, community partners).

For each barrier, name one practical first step your school could take this year.

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Broader Impact: Beyond Graduation Rates

The Senior Capstone has strengthened our district's mission and vision without compromising graduation rates.

Key Outcomes:

Creates an actionable pathway supporting district goals
Builds shared expectations across school and community
Develops career-ready graduates with demonstrated agency

Implementation Considerations:

Ensure adequate staffing and oversight systems
Align leadership team on completion standards
Build sustainable support structures

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Community Partnerships: Building Social Capital

What Partners Provide

Industry expertise and real-world context
Job shadow placements and networking opportunities
Credibility and authentic audiences for student work
Pathways to potential employment

Practical Actions

Maintain a partner database with contact notes and success stories
Regular partner feedback loops on what's working and what isn't
Co-create projects with community organizations
Celebrate partner contributions publicly
Partners become invested in student success, not just one-time visitors

Senior projects create a sustainable structure for community connections

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Rethinking Assessment: Traditional Exams vs. Portfolio Model

Traditional Semester Exams

Focus on recall of content
Measure performance at a single point in time
Emphasize test-taking skill

Portfolio-Based Assessment

Requires cumulative reflection and synthesis
Documents progression of learning over time
Connects skills to real-world application
Creates a system to warehouse individual student achievement

The Shift: Capstones move assessment from "what did you remember?" to "what can you do with what you've learned?"

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Replacing final exams: A Philosophical Shift

Assess readiness, not recall. Measure application, not memorization.

Practical Transition Steps

All students complete semester course portfolios
Artifacts serve as evidence of learning
"Senior project" mindset begins in 9th grade
Final exams reserved for students needing to demonstrate proficiency in specific standards

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The Vision

Every student graduates with a documented story of their learning journey — not just a transcript of test scores.

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Q&A and action planning: Immediate next steps checklist

Quick checklist for leaders to leave with:

1) Identify a pilot cohort and timeline

2) Assign a coordinator and advisory leads

3) Draft a handbook aligned to EDP outcomes with a viable timeline

4) Secure 2–3 community partners for each career cluster for job shadows

5) Communicate the plan to staff, students, and families

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Closing reflection and takeaway quote

The best assessment is the work itself—capstones let students show what they can do when it matters

Reflection prompt: One sentence — how will you move one student closer to their next step this year?

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Thank You!

We are happy to share ideas, insight, and resources!

Scott LaFever — scott.lafever@merps.org

Jennifer Nosakowski — jennifer.nosakowski@merps.org

Questions or requests for resources — please reach out after the session

Senior Project Handbook

Senior Project Examples

Google Slides: bit.ly/3SfJ9NG