The Community Service Capstone Program at Heritage Hall allows seniors to conduct an in-depth research project on a social issue of their choosing, such as poverty, justice, health, family, or prejudice. Students perform research, interviews, and community service work on their topic. The goal is for students to strengthen their learning experience and better understand how to create positive change in the community. Students must write a research paper and defend their thesis in an exit interview with faculty. This provides seniors an opportunity to further develop their skills and contribute to important social issues before graduating.

1. The Community Service Capstone Program
Seniors may elect to participate in Heritage Hall’s Community Service Capstone Program in
place of the traditional community service component. During the Capstone program, seniors
perform in­depth and varied research on a subject of their own choice critical to a
contemporary area of social concern under one of five major themes: poverty, justice, health,
family or prejudice.
The mission of Heritage Hall is to inspire in each child the curiosity to
learn, the self­confidence to lead, and the compassion to serve.
As seniors prepare to leave Heritage Hall and enter the next phase of their lives, they will
work independently in their final year of high school pursuing an intentional course of service
and research through our Capstone Program. The Capstone Program encourages students
to breathe life into the values of the School’s mission by designing, developing, and
implementing their own service­oriented programs. Taking the mission of Heritage Hall as
their guide, and drawing upon their previous experiences as student­members of the Charger
community, seniors offer their skills and services to the wider community while also extending
their vision of themselves and their place in the world. Through this program, seniors have a
chance to learn and do more than is possible within the classroom and school environment.
The Capstone Program is meant to be the pinnacle ­­ or capstone ­­ of a Heritage Hall
senior’s high school achievement.
Senior Capstone Goals
● To strengthen the transition from high school to college
● To provide a stronger extended community experience during the senior year
● To provide stronger independent learning opportunities for seniors
● To engage students as active participants in the learning process
● To help students gain a greater familiarity with the business and professional sector
● To promote stronger formal interpersonal skills
● To bridge theory with practice
● To strengthen the academic learning experience during their senior year.
General Expectations
● Each student must pick a contemporary area of social concern impacting our local
community under one of five major themes: poverty, justice, health, family or
prejudice.
● Each student’s Proposal must clearly state a problem in the area of concern they
1

2. have chosen.
● Each student must conduct a minimum of two personal interviews ­ posing
questions relating to service, individual welfare, and ethics ­ with at least one
person affected by the particular area of concern and one person who effects
change in the area of concern. The interviews must include at least four questions
in each area of concern: service, individual welfare, and ethics. Multiple interviews
are often appropriate.
● Each student must read at least four credible outside research articles in in their
area of concern.
● Each student must connect the area of concern to a major literary work.
● Each student must submit their written manuscript to the Capstone Committee.
● Each student must defend their paper and its thesis during an exit interview with the
Capstone Committee.
● All work will be completed by the individual student.
● All Capstone activities must be uncompensated, feasible, legal, ethical, safe, and
consistent with the mission of Heritage Hall.
The Written Thesis
Students will be expected to select a topic under one of the five major themes: poverty,
justice, health, family, and prejudice. Within that topic, students will need to present a
concrete thesis or argument, which they then support through academic research, individual
interviews, and personal experiential work.
The final product will be a comprehensive research paper of at least 2500 words, including at
least four academic sources (one of which must be a professional journal), and two
interviews, and some form of personal experience. Additionally, the student must relate the
issue to at least one major literary work. All students will also be expected to defend their
thesis during a fifteen­minute exit interview with the Capstone Committee.
Time Commitment​: A minimum of 24 hours of work is required for the Capstone Project:
approximately 16 hours of Research­related work and 8 hours of relevant Community Service,
All work must be completed before the Project’s Exit Interview.
Project Proposals: ​Seniors will work with their Advisor (and perhaps other faculty members,
as well as community leaders) to design their Project and put together a thorough,
persuasive, and professional proposal, which will be reviewed by the Capstone Committee
(consisting of the Dean of Students, the Director of College Counseling, the Director of
Community Service and other faculty members, as needed). Instructions for writing and
submitting the proposal are included in the Proposal Form.
2

3. Themes
1. ​Poverty​: Poverty is an issue of importance to many around the world. Students can
address poverty from a variety of perspectives, ultimately addressing it in different areas.
Students can look at poverty on a state, city, or even neighborhood level. Students can
address the causes of poverty, attempt to find solutions rooted in governmental policy, or
even address other actors who might be able to address it. Ultimately, students would be
expected to make some level of thesis statement which they could hope to answer or defend.
2. ​Justice​: Justice is a very broad concept and could include many issues which might also
be called fairness. Students hoping to address some concept of justice must make sure they
select a topic narrow enough to be addressed in the time and space allotted. Potential topics
might address concerns about the enormous costs of the current justice system; inequities of
the current justice system; victimization; the efficacy of law enforcement and correctional
strategies; or reform efforts to improve rehabilitation or public safety. These topics may be
addressing the application of federal laws in the local community. In some cases, topics
which fit under the theme of justice could also fit within prejudice.
3. ​Health​: Health is a crucial issue at many levels. Students wishing to address a topic within
this theme could address major health issues like disease and clean water, an issue revolving
around education and healthy decisions regarding substance abuse or addiction, or even a
personal level of living a healthy lifestyle or overcoming/coping with a chronic or genetic
illness. Students might be able to present these issues by giving historical perspective,
presenting an educational plan for a school or community, or even offering or analyzing
proposed solutions to one of these major issues.
4. ​Family​: The breakdown of the family unit has been blamed for many social ills not just in
America but around the world. However, there are many topics within this theme besides
talking about divorce rates or the definition of the family. Students have the opportunity to
address issues like domestic violence, single­parent households, stay­at­home parents, etc.
Students could even address questions of helicopter parenting or the percentage of young
people who live with their parents after graduating from college. With this variety, students
may identify a problem they hope to solve, a curious trend they hope to understand, or even
to study the impacts of an accepted social norm.
5. ​Prejudice​: Many people make negative assumptions or characterizations about people
different than themselves. Be it race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or
other aspect, there are many ways we distinguish ourselves from others. Students
investigating prejudice have the opportunity to study the origins of prejudice, the effects of
prejudice on a particular group, and even discuss individual experiences dealing with
prejudice, giving them the opportunity to discuss ways to combat prejudice and promote
understanding.
3

4.
The Thesis Statement
Students will be expected to present a thesis which either makes an argument that something
is​ or advocates a particular course of action. Examples include:
1)Poverty can best be solved not by governmental action, but by community­based non­profit
organizations, because different solutions fit different communities.
2)Law and punishment is unequally applied to different races and genders in the State of
Oklahoma, because the judges and prosecutors are not truly representative of the people.
3)Drug­testing programs at the school level are ineffective at the prevention of drug use,
because they drive students to more dangerous options.
4)Students who come from homes with a stay­at­home parent are less independent and have
a harder time adjusting to independent college life than peers with two parents who work
outside of the home.
Interview
Students will be expected to conduct two personal interviews: one with an individual
personally affected by the issue and one with an individual engaged in addressing the issue.
Academic Research
Students are expected to include evidence from at least four credible research articles. At
least one source must come from a professional trade journal in the field of study.
Literary Connection
These major themes can be found at the heart of almost any major literary work of any age.
Students are expected to relate at least one significant piece of literature to their topic in a
meaningful way.
Personal Experience
In many areas, there may be an opportunity for a student to study or investigate the subject at
an experiential level. As available, students will be encouraged to gain personal experience
in the area by volunteering, shadowing, or other experiences which may present themselves.
4

5.
Community Service Capstone Proposal Form
(Due Friday October 17)
Name:
__________________________________________________________________________
Question:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Explanation (Why is this socially relevant?):
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Potential Resources (Academic or Interview):
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Approvals:
Mr. Wasson:_____________________________
Mrs. Brown:___________________________
Mr. Gray: _______________________________
Advisor:_________________________________
5

6.
Community Service Capstone Evaluation Rubric
The individual thesis project is a student’s seminal work at Heritage Hall and will be held to a
high standard of written quality and scholarly content. While the individual grading rubric may
be amended by an agreement between the student and the signees of the proposal form, the
general rubric will be as follows:
Writing:
Length: Does the paper meet the required length without unnecessary fluff?
Introduction: Is the introduction relevant, attention­grabbing, and does it appropriately
introduce the primary question or thesis?
Conclusion: Does the paper restate the thesis and primary support for the argument?
Structure: Is the overall structure of the paper logical and easy to follow?
Grammar/Spelling/Vocabulary: Is the paper free of simple errors?
Academic Research:
Relevance: Is the research relevant to the question/thesis?
Credibility: Does the research come from credible academic sources, as opposed to
news articles or one­sided publications?
Incorporation: Is the research incorporated into the paper in an effective manner?
Interview/Personal Experience:
Relevance: Is the interview and/or personal experience relevant to the
question/thesis?
Incorporation: Is it incorporated into the paper in an effective manner?
Literary Work:
Relevance: Is the selected literary work(s) relevant to the question/thesis?
Incorporation: Is the literary work effectively related to the topic and incorporated into
the paper effectively?
6