The Senior Exhibition
The final requirement for a New School diploma is the Senior Exhibition, a student-centered independent project manifested in a thesis-oriented research paper and a presentation. The Senior Exhibition represents two ideas: that the student is an independent worker and thinker who is ready for college, and that graduating students should give back to the school by applying the skills they have learned to projects of unique interest and sharing those projects with all of us. Immediately after Junior Portfolio conferences, students begin the Senior Exhibition process by selecting and then brainstorming with their Content Advisor, and begin research and organizational work over the summer. Seniors work closely with their Content Advisor, board members, and with Billy Pasour, the Senior Programs Director.
The Honors Diploma
The New School awards an Honors Diploma to students who have demonstrated mastery within a particular discipline.
The Senior Exhibition must be in the chosen subject area and earn an A- or higher
The Senior Exhibition must be extended into an Early College Project (see below)
Completion of an Honors or AP course in the subject area (earning a B or higher)
A senior seeking an Honors Diploma must recruit an outside evaluator (an academic or professional in the field) to review the exhibition and Early College Project and affirm that the work is college or professional level
Early College Project
While the senior exhibition is creative in that it offers new ideas to a field in the form of a thesis, the Early College Project extends this area of study by offering new creations to a field. A physics exhibition on electromagnetism might be extended by converting a regular bicycle to be electrically assisted. A government exhibition might be extended through scripting a play where a particular form of government is employed and its effects are borne out upon various characters.
The Early College Project begins with the student declaring intent as early as possible in the Senior Exhibition process. The student will work with the content advisor and department head to develop a working concept for the project.