Senior CAPStone is an advanced inquiry-based research seminar. As a cohort, CAPS students pursue an essential question through quantitative and qualitative research methods along with a substantial field-based inquiry project. CAPS offers students a chance to create an independent academic experience, with the focus on extensive authentic examination. CAPStone at AHS provides seniors with a critical learning experience and an opportunity for intellectual problem solving, social change, and community service. The focus of CAPS is to place students in the position of the “expert” in an area of study or in a career setting of their own choosing. CAPS projects require students to develop competency in gathering, analyzing, and reporting on data. For seniors, it’s an opportunity to interweave their learning in all these areas and to do so “in real time, in an unpredictable, complex, real-world environment.” The goal of the CAPS is for students to merge their various interests, curiosities, and passions with their academic and intellectual lives and take shape through Original Field Research, a year-long dissertation-style Inquiry Paper, a web-based Project Portfolio, and a TED-style Community Presentation that communicates the culmination of the experience. Students who enroll in CAPS will receive 1 credit of English.