Savanna High School Capstone Program - Medical Careers Academy

Description

At each grade level, Savanna Medical Careers Academy students develop and maintain a Capstone Portfolio consisting of evidence representing key areas of the curriculum and a profile of their accomplishments within the Medical Academy classes as well as their other classes that can be communicated to teachers, community members, colleges, and employers. The portfolio serves as evidence that the student has met core competencies in their classes for college and career readiness and has also prepared to meet personal goals for future levels of learning.  

Curriculum and assessments at Savanna support and reflect deeper learning skills, specifically Savanna’s Student Learning Capacities. At Savanna, we want our students to be: critical thinkers and inquirers, academically and personally accountable, communicators and collaborators, globally aware and culturally competent, and digital-age learners. Savanna’s mission is to also ensure students reach their highest potential through meaningful and challenging experiences so they are successful in a rapidly changing world. The Capstone program supports the development of dispositions that colleges and employers recognize as important, such as resilience, perseverance, and an academic growth mindset, through performance task assessments that require students to learn to work with others, to solve problems industriously, and to overcome obstacles as necessary. These kinds of tasks are embedded into Savanna teachers’ curriculum on a regular basis and, ultimately, are reflected upon as part of the Capstone process.

The Capstone program culminates for Savanna Medical Careers Academy seniors when they share and explain their work orally to a panel of teachers and health industry professionals. This experience includes time for students to respond to questions about their learning, their experiences, and their goals.