For seniors, the graduation project can be a major stressor adding on to all the other stress in their busy lives. Between school, work and family there can be literally no time to even think about starting the graduation project; let alone sit down and do all three parts along with all the other school work seniors are assigned.

For the past four years, English teachers Melissa Catrambone and Rhaki Chowdhury have been giving students chances of completing the graduation project during their English classes. Not only has it been very useful for most of the students, but it has given most of them the time to finish and present their power points seven months in advance of the due date; giving students more time to work on their studies rather than worrying about making the due dates.

“I liked that Cat and Chow got it out of the way, right away,” senior Dana Bell said. “Once I got it done, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was relieved that I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Catrambone and Chowdhury start the school year off by having their classes in the library for the first three weeks working on the graduation project; giving their students their undivided attention and help guide them to their fullest potential.

“Most students come into twelfth grade with no idea what they are going to do after high school. We try to help them and give them a direction,” Catrambone said. “We feel that our role as educators is to help students in every way possible.”

Some students may think that their guidance with the graduation project is completely defeating the sole purpose of the project, but in fact it is doing the complete opposite. It forces students to seriously think about their future instead of waiting till the last moment and not having a single clue about their life plan.

“Doing the graduation project in class helped me get it in on time,” senior Tori Del Tito said. “I am great full to have completed my grad project in class because i would not have done it on my own till the last minute.”

Instead of losing independence, it prepares them to enter the real world and conquer success. Helping seniors gain a plan and encourage them to act on that plan after graduation is the main reason for the graduation project and some teachers are just helping the cause.

Another issue that is brought up is that the graduation project is taking away time from doing the twelfth grade English curriculum. Although the graduation project is not British Literature, it still meets most of the requirements in the twelfth grade curriculum.

Each part of the graduation project meets state standards of the English curriculum. The research part of the project directly relates to gathering and organizing information to be used for an appropriate topic. Part Two of the project, which is all about writing, represents the writing full, organized, developed paragraphs with detailed information. It also practices transitions between paragraphs, structure of the essay and writing techniques. Also, the PowerPoint practices using organization, structure and information to get the point across to the audience.

Even though three weeks are used up for the graduation project to be completed, there is still plenty of time to do all the other scheduled work.

Some people may not agree with what they are doing in their classroom, but each teacher should be entitled to their own style of teaching. Although, it would be nice to have every teacher offer the same opportunities to each student, it is still a personal choice.

“Individual teachers may choose how or when they help,” Graduation Project Adviser, Donald Palmer said. “Some help in class and some help before and after school. I believe that our role as educators is to help students in every way possible.”

Catrambone and Chowdhurys’ goals are simple: help the students; and that’s exactly what they do. They are guiding students to make life choices that many would have trouble doing on their own. They are making students less stressed and teaching everything in the curriculum within the school year; leaving nothing out. Although they might be the only ones stepping out, they are making a difference in their students for the past four years.

“We stand by our decision to start with the graduation project. Helping students learn about careers, apply to college and come up with a plan for future success is a great part of being 12th grade teachers.” Catrambone said.

See More: Pennsylvania State graduation requirements ( http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter4/s4.24.html )