This time of year high school seniors usually have their minds on proms, exams, senior pranks, and, of course, graduation. But for Spencerport seniors and those in other districts as well, things are a bit different. While they are probably thinking of the events and ceremonies of senior year, they are also involved in one of the most inclusive projects of their twelve years of public education - the Senior Integrated Project, or SIP.

For seniors at Spencerport High School, exams for English and social studies classes are given just before their spring break. After the break, these time periods are used for the project. SIP students must identify a need, prove that need, find a solution and implement that solution.

"The projects are absolutely amazing this year," said Marsha Hinman, English teacher at the school. "It's really exciting."

Sara Barone and Michelle Keenan have proposed Dance for Joy (Jamaican Outreach to Youth), a project in which they will attempt to have a dance to raise money for Jamaican schools, as well as collect donations of school supplies such as chalk, pens, paper, books and workbooks from various businesses. They have a commitment from the Greece Jazz Band to play for the dance on August 3, 2001.

Jared Moreland, Jordan Raines and Shaun Tebo have initiated the Community Weight Training Program, which will open the high school weight room to the public from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It will cost participants one dollar per visit or twenty dollars a month. Everything from staff support to insurance issues has been thought out. They have even created a training video and membership cards for people who join.

Shawna Ball, Tom Boughner and Kimberly Dill coordinated Behind Every Flower There's a Smile, a program with Wedgewood Nursing Home. The group asked community businesses for donations of flowers, planted those flowers at the nursing home and combined the garden work with visits to the residents. They arranged for this project to be ongoing in future years by getting the school Environmental Club to commit to implementing it each year.

Helping Paws, a project by Krista Tyner and Christie Gutheil, will introduce Heather Childs and her pet therapy dog to Mrs. Painter's BOCES class in the high school. The project will start at the beginning of next year.

When Tonya Burek, Emily Liu and Meghan Olney discovered that more children are starving in Appalachia than in Cambodia, they realized the extent of poverty in their own country. They wanted to somehow help the children of Appalachia. They discovered that the schools in that area were lacking in basic supplies. Their project, Spencerport to Appalachia, involves adopting a school in Appalachia and asking the principal what the school might need. The students then collected such things as encyclopedias and other supplies. These will be transported there in the fall by a small group of upper classmen and teachers.

Shawn Calabrese and Rebecca Kellerson's project, House Warming for Habitat Families, involved getting basic home supplies (light bulbs, shovels, etc.) to families who move into the new homes built by the Flower City Habitat for Humanity.

Ryan Dunshie, Bill Michielsen and Vinh Nguyen, through their project Sudden Death in Young Athletes - Cut From the Ultimate Team, developed plans for the Rob Stultz 3-On-3 Tournament as a fundraiser for the memorial scholarship fund for their classmate who died in November 1998 of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Area businesses have donated trophies and supplies, and faculty members have volunteered their time to officiate and staff the event, tentatively scheduled for March 2002. The students also prepared an educational flyer for distribution at the tournament, to educate the public on HCM, a hereditary congenital heart disorder responsible for the sudden death of many healthy young athletes.

Ashley Mauro, Alicia Spaziano and Colleen Muir started a website for their project. Homework Hotline is already up and running and allows students in grades 9-12 to access their homework assignments on a daily basis. This is also helpful for a student who has missed school due to illness.

Helping Mothers in Need, a project by Jonathan Hinman, Jason Lindsay and Mary Ellen Uschold, created a brochure to direct pregnant teens to places that can help them. They also ran clothing drives through area churches for maternity clothes and infant needs.
Andrew Peer, Christina Sekella and Jeffrey Sickelco's project, Facing an Empty Nest, has created a website to connect parents with each other and offer informational articles that might help them during this transitional time.

About this unique senior requirement, Senior Chrysta Sasso says, "After all was said and done, this SIP project has opened our eyes to see how blessed we are and how we need to reach out and give back to our community as much as possible."

Joseph Perrone, Erinn Cullingworth and Christopher Cappetta write that SIP helped them "to realize that everyday citizens like us can make a difference in the community."

David Hossenlopp says, "It tests each one of us to see if we are ready for the next step in life. It can cause a student to feel confident about his future journeys."

Public education was initially implemented in order to educate people to be knowledgeable and informed citizens able to contribute to the United States. (The New Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education, September, 1997). It seems that SIP has helped to teach the "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" (John F. Kennedy) - attitude.

Shawn Calabrese and Rebecca Kellerson write, "We feel that the actual implementation of our project made SIP more than just another graduation requirement, but an eye-opening, real-life experience."

SIP evolving

The Senior Integrated Project (SIP) is a requirement for graduation from Spencerport High School. The project was the brain-child of former teacher Stephen Clarke and teacher Thomas Linhart. Using their knowledge of social studies, English and economics, the students must identify a need in society or even within their school. They must prove that need and come up with a solution and implement that solution. A paper of at least 10 pages explaining and documenting their work and a 42-minute (one period) oral presentation in front of two evaluators and about 60 students is required.

Principal Gerald E. Bucklin says, "Spencerport is known around the county for SIP. I've encountered other principals around the state who have heard of Spencerport's SIP; and they all seem to believe, as I do, that it is a unique and valuable project. SIP gives Spencerport seniors the opportunity to demonstrate all the skills and competencies that we would like our graduates to have."

"I see an evolution in the students' abilities to put projects together. It changes over time as students develop their abilities to use technology." This year most of the students did Power Point presentations, a slide presentation done on a computer using text and graphics.

Critics of SIP say that it puts too much focus on the project, sometimes at the expense of other subjects. Bucklin says, "We are creating a task force to evolve SIP to the next stage - rather than excluding other disciplines, we will include them. Up until now SIP has focused on creation and implementation of public policy. One possible way to change it would be to personalize the project and focus on the individual's area of expertise or career. This may involve mathematics or music, etc. That is the kind of change that is occurring on a national basis."

"Many people believe that the senior year is kind of a blow-off year. Educators feel that a project such as SIP would demonstrate the students' mastery and proficiency, similar to a thesis on an appropriate level for high school students. An added benefit is that many colleges are interested in seeing examples of students' work. This project could become a key part of a student's portfolio."