Perk Valley SD to Reevaluate Graduation Projects as State Mandate is Lifted

While Pennsylvania’s mandated graduation project for high school students were meant to give students “real-life learning experiences” to prepare them for college and the workforce, in 2017 they will be replaced with a series of exams in order to graduate; Perkiomen Valley School District plans to re-evaluate the program with a team of school staff.

"The district will likely maintain the project, but have it look a little different," Perkiomen Valley School District Spokesperson Jessica Lester said.

When the Pennsylvania Board of Education met earlier in September, it decided that the graduation project was no longer necessary because of the newly-adopted Pennsylvania Core Standards, which focus on understanding concepts that would have otherwise been learned doing the education project, according to The Morning Call.

The district released the following statement on the graduation project:

"The graduation project has long been a requirement for PV students. Currently it is a project that they must present to a panel of educators prior to graduation. In the past year, the district has engaged in discussions about the various options associated with the project as part of the Community Curriculum Advisory Committee. As these discussions continue, they will be brought before the Board of Directors and ultimately the Board will decide whether or not the project continues to be a graduation requirement."  

The Perkiomen Valley School Board will vote to make the final decision regarding graduation requirements.

This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.