Directions for Completing Your High School and Beyond Plan
The High School and Beyond Planis a requirement for graduation in the North Thurston Public Schools. Your High School and Beyond Planhas three required components: a portfolio, a presentation and community involvement. This guide will help you complete these three components.
Portfolio
Your portfolio contains documents demonstrating your proficiency in essential skills. You may add work to your portfolio beginning in 9th grade. Your portfolio should contain work from your senior year. Your school will provide you with specific information about your portfolio. When a teacher feels you have done coursework that qualifies as one of your “Best Works”, he or she will mark it as such and recommend you include that in your portfolio.
The North Thurston Public Schools requires four documents in your portfolio:
- Reading or writing best work
- Math best work
- Creative, artistic or a production best work
- A personal choice entry of a best work
Each high school will designate additional required elements for your portfolio. Portfolios may be a hardcopy notebook binder or an electronic portfolio using the WOIS system (Washington Occupational Information System), which is available at your school. Your advisor will tell you where and how to store your portfolio and documents.
Presentation
The presentation documents your proficiency in the essential skills of:
- Speaking
- Performance
- Future educational and work goal setting
Your presentation for the High School and Beyond Planwill be your student-led conference during your senior year. This usually occurs in March on the days designated for parent-teacher conferences. Each school will provide an outline of what you need to discuss at the student-led conference.
Community Involvement
Community involvement is a requirement. You need to earn 20 or more hours of community involvement. This can be accomplished through community or school service activities, participating in a job shadow experience, working with an adult mentor, or through a combination of these activities. You may begin earning and documenting community involvement hours during summer following your sophomore year. You must complete this requirement by the time of your presentation, during student-led conferences in March of your senior year.
You and your parents or guardians will be arranging your own community involvement activities following the guidelines for theHigh School and Beyond Plan. There is a separate document, Directions for Completing the Community Involvement Requirement, to help you. Parents must sign and return to the school the Parent/Guardian Information and Hold Harmless Form. To assist students in planning, there is a reference, Tips for Successful Community Involvement for Students. Parents should read Tips for a Successful Community Involvement for Parents.
You will document your community involvement activities and time using the Community Involvement Documentation Form. This is available at your school and also on your school’s website. Once you have completed an activity, give the form to the person designated by your school.
Completion Dates
All three required components must be complete at the end of your student-led conference in March of your senior year.