Senior project discussion set for Jan. 31 meeting Senior project discussion set for Jan. 31 meeting (January 20, 2006)

Parent outcry leads board to reconsider new graduation requirement
by Rebecca Guyon

Tuesday night's school board meeting was packed with parents eager to discuss the district's new senior project requirement for graduation. Review of the controversial senior project and its planned implementation for the Class of 2010 will be formally discussed at the school board's Jan. 31 meeting, a move the board made in response to the many parents of middle school students who came to Tuesday's meeting to speak out against it.

The senior project would require students to explore an area of interest by developing a question and then seeking the answer through an activity that could be anything from putting on a play, running a political campaign or fixing a car engine. After the activity is complete, students would write a reflective essay, give a presentation and turn in a portfolio cataloguing the experience.

"I have many concerns, and my first concern is that students will require huge amounts of guidance in time management skills," said parent Janet Gates. "And it's a well-grounded fear, based on many science fair projects, that this will actually become a parent project." She added that the project would take up too much time and hinder students from participating in extracurricular activities. "What will have to be deleted from our children's lives for this project?" she asked.

The board's Tuesday agenda included review of two new courses: the Senior Project Experience Class and the Senior Transition Experience Project. Both are being considered as possible elective courses that students could take to complete the senior project.

Board President Steve Pulido told the assembled parents that the board would not be able to discuss the senior project or its timeline because it was not an agenda item. Still, several parents expressed their displeasure during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Parent Cherie Stueve said the senior project, while perhaps successful in other districts, was unnecessary in Pleasanton. "We don't need the senior project," she said, "and I want to see it made voluntary, not mandatory."

The senior project was originally approved by the board in 2003 and scheduled to be implemented as a graduation requirement for the Class of 2007, but many parents spoke against the project during a June board meeting. At the time, the main concerns were that the additional requirement is unnecessary and that parents and students weren't sufficiently "in the loop" when the decision to require it was made.

Parents were upset, for example, that the announcement for a fall senior project meeting at Harvest Park Middle School came in a newsletter when the meeting was already over. Assistant Superintendent Cindy Galbo admitted that was a mistake and promised prompt notification of changes and meetings in the future.

The board unanimously approved the new courses and invited parents to come back on Jan. 31 to discuss the senior project at length.

"It's an issue that has drawn great interest in the community and as a board we should put it on as an agenda item," Pulido said.
Attending the meeting

The next school board meeting will Jan. 31 at the district offices, 4665 Bernal Ave. Meetings start at 7 p.m. Check the district's Web site at www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us for meeting time, date and agenda changes.

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