We’re already halfway through the school year and the pressure is starting to pile up on seniors and their capstone projects. Yet despite this being the project’s “pilot year” and there being less work to do because of that, some people are just not getting them done. This has driven me to go and talk to someone who is overseeing the project so that we can see what they think might be the reason people aren’t getting any progress done for their projects.

Why arent people making progress?

Because of this I decided to ask Mr. Heaslip a few questions, initially I asked him if he thought there was any reason some people haven’t made any progress until now. To which he responded with: “It is designed so it is over the course of all four years. With it being implemented starting last year, there was not enough time to grasp our heads around it, over 90% of seniors were on target with their progress in mid-year.” This is good news for us, it means that the issue isn’t as large as it may appear to be, and people are actually getting progress done. 

Will the project change in the future?

My second question was if there were going to be any changes next year. He responded with: “Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be introduced to the project in their English classes this year. This will hopefully change the direction and motivation for students to complete in the future.” This may be to compensate for the increased workload of the next set of upperclassmen, as now they’ll have to complete 5 essays among other things.

Will there be more capstone promotion?

Finally, I asked him if capstone projects should be pushed / advertised more around the school. He responded by saying: “Yes. However there have been 3 BCN episodes specifically for seniors, in which they’ve been able to see more about the Capstone experience and what it should look like. We’ll be showcasing some of the projects as well. In other words, chances are this won’t be the last time we see capstones being mentioned in a BCN episode, whether it be for seniors or underclassmen.

Though now that we’ve painted a much better picture of the progress people have made on their projects and what we can expect from them in the future, it looks like now we’re getting on track. Regardless of how far you are with your project though, GET IT DONE! They’ve already told you this about a thousand times now, but failing to complete it means you WILL NOT GRADUATE. So it is best to deal with it now so you won’t have to in the future.