Board Policies & Administrative Procedures

Background

The Division supports the offering of special project credits at the high school level to recognize work undertaken by individuals or small groups of students. Special projects provide students with the opportunity to pursue activities in which they have considerable interest or ability, but which are not within the scope of the regular curriculum or the programs being offered in the school.

Procedures

1. Special projects can be offered for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 credits, twenty-five (25) hours of work per credit, at each of the Special Projects 10, 20, 30 levels. Special Projects 20 and Special Projects 30 do not have prerequisites.
    
2. Special project credits shall not be awarded for student activities that would be considered a normal part of the extracurricular or co-curricular activities generally offered by a school. This would include such things as school sports teams, school government, and after-school part-time jobs.
   1. Participation in community teams including ball, soccer, hockey, swimming, etc. are not to be considered for special project credits. However, leadership activities associated with some of the above activities may be considered for special project credits.
       
3. In instances where a student enrols in more than one (1) special project, credits shall not be approved unless the projects vary substantially from year to year or demonstrate increased levels of proficiency.
    
4. There are four (4) required elements for a student to receive special project credits:
   1. The student must write an acceptable proposal;
   2. The student must keep a detailed logbook of his/her activities;
   3. The student must accumulate a total of twenty (25) hours to one hundred twenty-five (125) hours to receive credit;
   4. The student must write an acceptable summary report.
       
5. The Principal must approve the student proposal prior to the beginning of the project.
   1. No credits shall be awarded for work done prior to acceptance of the proposal.
   2. Students are expected to take the initiative in planning their project and they are to work in consultation with a project supervisor.
       
6. Students are required to submit a clearly planned proposal to the Principal for approval. A copy of the proposal shall be kept on file until the project is completed.
   1. The proposal is to be neat, easy to understand and should include the following seven (7) elements:
      1. Clearly stated Introduction of what the project is about and why the student wants to undertake a special project in this area.
      2. Project data including project name, student name, grade, name of the project supervisor, amount of credit or hours, and time frame for the project.
      3. Clearly identified project objectives and description of expected results.
      4. Project timelines and activities.
      5. Supervisor’s Responsibilities
         1. There must be a minimum of two (2) evaluation or grading points, one (1) at the mid-term and one (1) at the conclusion of the project.
      6. Evaluation Strategies
         1. These are to be clearly spelled out by the project supervisor and are to identify how the final grade will be determined at the conclusion of the project
         2. A logbook and a summary report component are to be included in the evaluation strategy.
      7. Signatures of student, parent, supervisor, and Principal.
         
         
7. Each project shall be carried out under the direction of a teacher, who in turn may engage the assistance of others qualified to assist with the project.
    
8. The opportunity to obtain special project credits shall be available to all students. This does not mean that if an individual or a small group of students develop a specific proposal, that all students should be able to participate in that particular project.
    
9. The content of the special project need not be related to a specific school subject. If it is related to a specific school subject, the content of the project shall be distinct from and in addition to regular course requirements.
    
10. Projects shall be completed and reported to the Principal prior to the conclusion of the semester or full term.
     
11. Where a project takes a student off-campus, the provisions of Administrative Procedure 216 – Off-Campus Education shall apply.
     

Reference

Section 18, 52, 53, 196, 197, 222 Education Act
Guide to Education: ECS to Grade 12

Approved: June 10, 2004

Amended: May 31, 2004; August 21, 2018