Social‑studies chair: capstone pilot helped about 80 seniors earn New York State Seal of Civic Readiness

Tom Graziano, social studies department chairperson, presented the district’s pilot capstone for seniors designed to help students earn the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness.

Graziano said the district integrated the capstone into the government/economics course to make the project part of regular instruction rather than an add‑on. He credited senior teachers Nora Hanson, Jen Carpinello and Marcela Saikakee for leading the work and said the pilot ran primarily from September through January, with some students continuing later. "We have about 80 students right now who are going to get the Seal of Civic Readiness," he said.

The capstone requires students to develop an action plan, identify community contacts and learn to communicate and reflect on their work. Graziano highlighted common challenges: connecting student interests to practical projects (for example, turning concern about flooding into a specific policy or infrastructure question), coping with setbacks when projects are told "this won't work," and keeping students focused while allowing pivots.

Examples shown included a student project on crosswalk access for visually impaired residents and a project on installing solar panels; several student groups presented to the board and some projects moved on to community engagement. Graziano said the pilot was "super successful for a pilot" and discussed goals to trim redundancy, improve check‑ins and consider a smaller middle‑school capstone pilot to prepare students earlier.

Graziano closed by noting the project’s reliance on teacher time and community partnerships and said the district plans to continue and refine the program.