What is Capstone?

What is the Capstone Project?

Students at Weymouth High School work with an advisor to complete an independent project which synthesizes their learning from the electives in their career academy as well as demonstrates command of core 21st century skills in a real-world context. As the Capstone is an independent student project, the form and focus will vary greatly, however, all students must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Students will create a proposal of the project dealing with one of the themes in their career pathway;

2. Students will design and produce a rigorous project and portfolio, which includes:

  • works cited page of 15-20 sources used in the creation of the project

  • an annotated bibliography that includes 15-20 sources

  • a 4-5 page paper which synthesizes their research findings

  • evidence of using their research to make a difference in their industry or community

  • a 2-3 page reflective paper that identifies how the project demonstrates command of core 21st century skills;

3. Students will present to an audience consisting of teachers, administrators, parents, and community participants.


Why Capstone?

"Capstone Projects Deepen Learning" according to EdWeek.com.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/02/06/can-capstone-projects-deepen-learning-for-high.html


From an article by America Achieves Educator Networks:

“We repeatedly hear from industry experts that students who enter the workforce are not prepared with a lot of basic skills such as communication skills, collaborative skills, the ability to be problem solvers, and to be creative in the workforce.”

- Kristen Champion-Terrell, Project Lead The Way


As the world of work rapidly shifts, ensuring students are equipped with the skills and competencies they need for career and life success is becoming increasingly challenging. Many recent graduates struggle to find meaningful, good work, and companies report significant gaps in their talent pipelines.


This phenomenon is particularly evident in Colorado. Commonly known as the Colorado Paradox, the state has one of the fastest-growing economies in the U.S. but struggles to equip its own students with the skills they need to access opportunities to continue to support that growth.


Industry-aligned performance tasks and graduation capstones are one promising approach to helping students develop and practice key career competencies - academic, technical, and/or cross-sector skills - as they design the future.

"We need to make sure students are mastering challenging core content; being exposed to specific skills that align with their career aspirations and industry demands; and developing key transferable 21st century employability skill—from critical thinking and resource management to a range of interpersonal skill

- Heidi Ramírez, Executive Director of Educator Networks at America Achieves


The state of Connecticut recently (2019) made Capstone a requirement for all graduating seniors.