Senior Project: one of Clark’s foundational pillars gets revisited and revamped this year. The seniors got a late start to their projects this year as administrators and the English department worked together to figure out changes to the approval process. The Senior Project is a rite of passage at Clark, and with the uncertainty of this year, seniors were curious to see what the project will look like this year.
“I know seniors were waiting for information about the Senior Project, but honestly, it was really refreshing starting the contracts in October because I got to focus first on my English curriculum before the Senior Project,” Ms. Kirakosyan said. Little did the students know that the delays came from the fact that there were changes happening with the leadership and roles teachers and staff played in the Senior Project.
For the last eight years, Mrs. Tatevosian was the Senior Project coordinator whose responsibilities included supporting students, organizing all the documents, presenting to all the senior classes as well as evening family presentations, and finally setting up all the logistics for Oral Boards in May.
Mrs. Shahverdian, Clark’s teacher specialist, is going to help support the English department by working with the new administrators and Mrs. Tatevosian to set up the Oral Boards. This year will be a transition year until administrators decide what the coordinator role will look like in the future. There is some talk of having a teacher group to also support students throughout the year with hurdles they face with the project. This information will come later.
Mrs. Shahverdian is excited to support students. Despite the fact that she is very busy, she has a bit more flexibility with her work so she can meet with students at times that English teachers are in class. “I’m relatively new to the Senior Project compared to some of the teachers that have been teaching it for decades, but I am happy to sit with students and talk through ideas that might help them narrow down what to do and how to be successful,” Mrs. Shahverdian said.
The Oral Boards date has also been moved up a bit this year due to conflicting schedules with AP testing. On the bright side, the Senior Project will be done before AP testing, so students can celebrate after it is all done. “It honestly hasn’t changed too much since most students do the bulk of the work in a two to three month time span,” Mrs. Tatevosian said. “Clark students are resilient and won’t be affected by this. I am looking forward to seeing what the graduating class of 2024 will accomplish this year.”
