Academic Exhibitions
During the transition years between childhood and high school, young people need certain kinds of experiences in order to reflect, integrate, and deepen their understandings.
The Graduation Requirement
During the transition years between childhood and high school, young people need certain kinds of experiences in order to reflect, integrate, and deepen their understandings. More particularly, they need to:
- Work in small groups with adults who know them well.
- Experience and meet academic expectations in such a way that they are surprised and impressed with their own abilities.
- See the connections between academic arenas.
- See the connections between academic study and the work that takes place outside of the classroom.
- Explore the world in authentic and engaging ways through a wide variety of media, including music, drama, and visual art
- Have opportunities to make their own positive, individual and collective mark on their environment.
Throughout their years at Mustard Seed School, students are given multiple experiences that meet these needs. When it is time to graduate, even the process of graduating incorporates all these opportunities and expectations.
In their last years at Mustard Seed, Seventh and Eighth Grade students respond to big questions in a variety of academic areas and then present their answers to a committee of faculty, family members, peers, and invited guests. Through a series of prepared talks, essays, and varied works, students present their considerations. In their last exhibition, their final project, students respond to questions of their own choosing and discuss topics of wider significance. Then, as committee members ask important questions and enter the discussion, students express and gain still further insight.
While this series of events is quite a challenge for students, it is also a place for celebration. In these academic exhibitions, we are all invited to witness the individual mark each student has made on our school, give thanks, and affirm each one as each becomes ready for graduation, for high school, and more.
What Are Academic Exhibitions?
In an academic exhibition, each student 1) performs an on-demand and/or planned task, and 2) presents a portfolio, project, or other artifact, that shows evidence of learning in an important area of study. As students present their ideas and work, a committee of adults, including a family member, an advisor, and teachers, will view the evidence of the student’s work. Teachers and advisors will then determine whether academic expectations have been met or whether more work must be done before graduation can be awarded.
For young people who are preparing for adulthood, these academic exhibitions represent a broad range of evidence that each student possesses the readiness and competence needed for many of life’s demands, including high school level work. As students present and defend their work before a group of peers, parents, and teachers, they take part in a process that is tangible, interactive, and consequential.
There are eight domains for the school’s graduation requirement: Visual Arts, Music, History and Government, Leadership and Service, Mathematics, Science, Literature and Writing, and an area of choice. In each exhibition, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of essential questions, critical and creative thinking, alternate perspectives, relevance, and connections. These eight exhibitions and, beginning in 2010, an organized portfolio will make up the requirement that all students must meet before graduation is awarded.
Seventh Grade Academic Exhibitions
• Music/Art
• History/Government
• Science
• Literature and Writing
Eighth Grade Academic Exhibitions
• Music/Art
• Leadership and Service
• Mathematics
• Final Project
Schedule and Descriptions of Academic Exhibitions
Advisory Groups and the Graduation Committee
Each year, middle school students (Grades Six, Seven and Eight) will be assigned a staff member as an advisor – someone who assists in preparing them for these final steps and then serves as one of the judges on the graduation committee. Presentations are made during the Seventh and Eighth grade years. The graduation committee includes at least three people: a teacher(s), the advisor, and a family member. A younger student may serve as a helper to the candidate. In the final graduation project (the Integrated Project), one or two community members are also invited, as well as other teachers.
The Advisor’s Role
The advisor plays an important role in the graduation preparation. Advisors, who are assigned to students in their Sixth Grade year, meet with students on a weekly basis. Each advisor is responsible for guiding Seventh and Eighth Grade students as they prepare their essays, projects, and presentations, as well as assisting Sixth Grade students in the development of their portfolios. Prior to the presentation, advisors ask important questions, as well as help the student practice and prepare. Afterwards, each one serves as a member of the committee in order to evaluate the student’s work and then communicate the committee’s affirmation and assessment to the student.
How Are Students Judged?
It is the graduation committee’s job to determine if a student passes the graduation requirements. A rubric in each domain guides the work of the graduation committee. The rubrics enable members of the committee to more reliably and consistently judge work. These rubrics assess how well a student demonstrates specific levels of skills and competencies relevant to the particular work in each domain (math, literature, history, etc.), and the effectiveness of the student's written and oral communication.
The graduation committee is also expected to note whether the candidate has developed appropriate habits of work—reliability, resourcefulness, ability to work with others and to meet deadlines—based on the evidence presented. After each student exhibition, the graduation committee (faculty, advisor, and family member) will then indicate whether a project has met the given requirements or if the work needs to be revised and presented again before graduation.