HPAC Scholar's Day 2019 2019 HPAC Scholar's Day Posters | Page 2

HPAC Implemented Into Senior Capstones
Windham High School
Tamara Brown
Senior Capstone HPAC Promoting Senior Projects HPAC’s Impact in the Community
The senior capstone project has allowed students
to understand the necessity of helping their
community while promoting individual growth
before leaving for college. As the Senior Capstone
teacher, I advise the seniors as they plan projects
in the community. I track their progress from
project inception through completion. Part of this
role involves tracking their online journal updates
to ensure their project is accomplished in a timely
manner. I assist with connecting students with
contacts and various outlets that will help them
successfully implement their projects. This year,
one of those outlets includes the AmeriCorps
HPAC Specialists that have been meeting with the
seniors weekly. HPAC has given a focus to students that struggle
to create and execute a project or idea. This year,
the HPAC senior projects have achieved the
highest enactment numbers in project participation
than in any other year. The HPAC model
encourages students to research issues impacting
their own community (Portage County) allowing
students to focus on concerns relevant to fellow
community members and bringing greater
awareness to the need of projects. Knowing their
“why” made their “what” much more impactful. HPAC has increased the number of projects at
Windham that have benefitted our students. This
includes stress relief to students through yoga,
and higher self esteem for girls that have a
negative attitude about their beauty. The Windham
community does not have the resources to support
many of the senior projects. However, HPAC has
taught our students that they can connect outside
of this isolated town to gather the resources they
need. Often, students tend to focus on minor
details. However, HPAC has helped the students
view everything on a larger scale because of the
value of discerning the bigger picture when looking
at issues in their community. They have learned
how to seek out health resources and bring them
into their community. Embedding HPAC into the
classroom has increased the average grades of
senior projects. This is a result of the increased
focus and research on the topic and resources.
Implementing HPAC in Senior
Capstone
HPAC has been a successful extracurricular
program at Windham Schools for years. This is the
first year that we have joined efforts in embedding
HPAC with the Senior Capstone class. The
process and goals of HPAC combine well with the
Senior Capstone class and the AmeriCorps HPAC
Specialists provide needed assistance and
guidance to the students as they develop and
enact their projects. As a result of HPAC, the
Senior Capstone students have implemented a
greater number of successful projects.
Ms. Brown advising a student on her senior capstone project.
HPAC’s Impact on Student
Communication
Ms. Brown with her nine Senior Capstone HPAC students
HPAC’s Impact on Senior
Development
HPAC not only helps in the completion of senior
projects, but it encourages students to think
outside the box and foster new ideas. HPAC has
improved the students’ self esteem in respect to
their capabilities and has helped them realize the
measure of the impact they can make in their
community. Alongside project development, the
AmeriCorps HPAC Specialists help seniors build
the skills they need for college and their
professional lives by providing networking skills,
mentoring, and more. This includes improving
organizational skills, presentation skills, and goal
setting capabilities. Students have embraced the
format of the senior projects more this year than
any other. As a result, the senior project format
has been adjusted to fit the HPAC model.
When reaching a road block, HPAC students rely
on one another to identify local resources. The
students each take time to discuss their projects
with other classmates for recommendations when
the AmeriCorps members are not present. Many of
their projects also require communication with their
audience, which has improved their public
speaking skills. Windham is known for its small
size and lack of community gatherings; therefore,
the events that are hosted by these students are a
milestone in terms of developing communication
and creating a greater sense of community.
HPAC students brainstorm for ideas.