Center High School rocks capstone projects

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Contributed photos

CENTER — One of the biggest events in Center this spring was the C-Town Classic and Custom Car Show. Complete with awards, plaques, vendors, food, prizes, and almost 50 cars, this inaugural event was a huge success.

What might be surprising to learn is that this car show had been entirely organized and managed by two juniors at Center High School through the school’s capstone program. And while these students created an impressive capstone project, it was just the tip of iceberg of all the incredible projects completed by juniors at Center High School through this year’s capstone program.

Over the course of this school year, 23 juniors at Center High School completed capstone projects that vastly exceeded expectations. These projects require students to go beyond the classroom and draw on their academic experience to initiate philanthropic and real-world projects.

In doing so, the experience teaches life skills in preparing students for success after high school and beyond. While completing a capstone project is now required by the State of Colorado for graduating seniors, the program at Center High is at the forefront of the state initiative.

This year’s projects did a great job of addressing the needs students identified in our community. Seeing a lack of mental health awareness for younger students, two students created comprehensive workshops for 11- to 15-year-olds to address this.

Several students painted murals to spread joy, celebrate local culture, and build community pride. Others undertook creative philanthropic efforts for the elderly, shelter animals, and those experiencing homelessness.

And for a community that never has enough to do, the movie nights, basketball open gyms and tournaments, and car show brought excitement and entertainment to residents of all ages.

However, one of the most successful aspects of Center’s capstone program is how each project aligns with the Colorado State standards while matching each student personally.

Kindra Rounds, the Center High School Capstone Facilitator, has been leading and growing this program for years.

“Not only are these capstones acts of service, they let students pursue their passion and provide them with a sense of self-worth and satisfaction,” says Rounds.

Under her leadership, the capstone program has grown tremendously each year since its inception in 2018.

“When we started we knew the State mandate had to be met, however the projects we are seeing students complete go above and beyond State requirements and will only continue to get better,” Rounds says.

A unique feature of Center’s capstone program is that they are done when students are juniors, instead of when they are seniors as is customarily done. A core reason for this is to give students the opportunity to continue working with their project with the support of school resources.

With the help of a REDI grant received by the Town of Center, a RISE grant received by the school, and additional support, students at Center High School have the opportunity to receive stipends, training, and more to expand their projects.

For example, the two students putting on mental health workshops have already received a grant to bring their workshops to the children at the local Center Viking Youth Club.

Similarly, a student who provided instruction to youth on skateboarding for his capstone is going to continue to be hired over the summer for his work.

Now, fast-forward to May 4 at the RISE Student Expo held at Adam’s State University. While there were seven San Luis Valley school districts in attendance, many of the projects from Center were major highlights.

Center students won awards for Best Overall Project, Most Out-Of-The-Box Project, Most Caring Project, Most Creative Presentation, Most Detailed and Organized Project, and several more. And while the awards are great, they do not do justice to all the work these students put in and all they learned.

Many students learned to craft professional letters and communicate with leadership at partner organizations.

Others learned how to effectively plan, organize, and promote a public event. Others learned how to manage failures, mistakes, and the realities of working with others to achieve real-world outcomes. And they all got practice and feedback presenting and telling their stories.

“These students should be so proud of what they accomplished. I know I am,” says Rounds.

Center’s capstone projects were tremendously successful this year. And they stand poised for improvement into the future. With capstone programs just getting started in schools around the state, they should consider looking toward Center as a model of success.

“It was an amazing experience and we are already making improvements for next year,” stated Rounds. “I can’t wait to see what these students will accomplish in the future.”