Structure: During the scheduling process, Juniors may sign-up to take The Senior Practicum during either the first or second semester of their senior year. A protocol for applying to participate in The Senior Practicum involves the following:

• submitting an application to Practicum Office
• making an appointment for an interview with the coordinator
• following procedures for the specific practicum activity selected

Options: The Senior Practicum activities can be pursued in any one of three areas:

1. a community service project which provides students an opportunity to demonstrate and explore their responsibility as citizens by "giving back" to the community.
2. an unpaid internship in some aspect of the adult world of government, business, or the service professions.
3. an independently produced product or performance that demonstrates a deep understanding and command of a given area of interest and developing expertise. This product or performance will benefit themselves and others within or outside of the school community.

Preparation: Students in grades 9-11 are prepared to take full advantage of The Senior Practicum through a curriculum taught by the coordinator of The Senior Practicum. The curriculum is infused into existing courses.

Evaluation & Credit: Grades are issued on a Pass/Fail basis and are determined by the successful completion of the following tasks:

• a daily journal
• a time sheet
• a series of self-evaluations
• sponsor evaluations
• participation in 3 seminars
• a final project
  Credits (5-10) are determined by the number of blocks and hours that a student elects to complete. A minimum of 120 hours during 1 block is required for 5 credits. Up to 10 credits may be earned.

Talk about an EXPERIENCE........
"I think the Senior Practicum is a wonderful thing. It really lets the students get feel for the workplace and their possible future in the field of work that they might want to stay in. My training consisted of learning definitions is 12 areas such as: pharmaceutical, dermatology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology and others. I was training to do medical transcription from tapes done by doctors. Each day got a bit easier. I was able to produce more work that I ever thought I would and I love it. All in all, this turned out to be ideal for me. I think most importantly it allows me to work and the reassurance that I can support myself." NL

"I learned how to use an editing machine to edit sports events for video highlights for television. It is a lot of work. I was surprised to see how much film was used to shoot a 3-minute segment. I helped interview Man on the Street segments and got to work on election night. I also got to submit stories for consideration for the sports news. I was also given a lot of responsibility and decision making ability about sports mail, press releases, mail, and the organization of video highlight tapes. I was responsible for dealing with mail from the NY Giants, the Metro Stars, and other professional and college sports organizations." FC

"My relationship with my mentor was great. We had regular meetings and he would apply material in the chapters I studied to something hands on. We bought the parts for a computer and we assembled it later that week. That was
the first time I ever put together a computer from scratch and it was certainly a learning experience. You have to be good with people." CB

"This experience has changed my life; if it were not for The Senior Practicum I would not have known whether or not I really wanted to become a teacher, and, if I did not know, well then I would have been nervous completing courses. This experience has literally changed the course of my life in many ways as well. I wanted to take up psychology for high school students, which would have led me to a different major and curriculum." MT

"I learned that I am creative and open-minded, (and)….. much more organized and responsible than I thought." LE

"One thing I would do differently (if I had it to do over again) is quit my job and spend even more time in the Practicum. Website Design is very competitive and hasn’t yet been established as a solid profession. However, designing a site and pushing hard to collect a staff and enthusiastically promote the site to those interested in joining me is tough. But it’s a lot of fun and I continue learning more efficient programming in Perl and applying it to the site. I have been attempting to put together a staff of young adults to work along side of me to promote and expand the site www.OneSweetWorld.com. I have learned that I will continue pushing for success until I have got what I want." SF

"I believe that I’ve become an exceptional photographer and have developed a good eye for good subjects. Cameras and film can often be frustrating and take a long time to learn (but) I learned that once I set my mind to learning something, I can usually pick it up pretty quickly. Because I worked independently, I learned that I am good at setting goals, assessing my performance and managing my time. It takes a tremendous amount of time management to maintain The Senior Practicum." KC

"My mentor and I treated each other as friends and colleagues. My work habits increased substantially. I learned that I could work well. I never tested myself before." MT

"I learned that I can work with just about anyone, even if I did not care for that person. I have learned that I enjoy working with children from 2-5 better, I no longer believe that I want to own my own pre-school, but I still want to teach." JC