JANAESA MACASAET || ARTS EDITOR
Principal Jimmy D’Andrea has confirmed that passes that allow Capstone students to leave campus for research purposes will remain for the next year, denying rumors that they would be completely eliminated.
Seniors in the Capstone Research class spend the year answering a question through both qualitative and quantitative methods. These passes allow students to leave campus for primary research. They may interview professionals, complete case studies, run experiments, or utilize outside resources such as Memorial Hall Library using these passes.
Entering the school year, the status of the passes were initially unclear, concerning a number of students.
“Multiple students have met with me because there were rumors circulating that I wanted to get rid of the CAPS passes, which was not accurate,” said D’Andrea. “I just want to make sure that we knew if a student was leaving, and then making sure that they were getting back.”
According to Capstone teacher Rebecca D’Alise, the passes were under review at the start of the year as school administration and staff worked through logistics.
“The status at the beginning of the year was ‘To Be Determined,’” said D’Alise. “As a CAPS team, we were asked to work with administrators to make sure that there were strong protocols put into place to make sure that students [were] able to utilize this unique experience while also adhering to school expectations and safety requirements.”
Senior Kari Belson explained that at the start of the year, many students believed they would not have access to the Capstone passes at all. Belson’s project is focused on menstrual health education in elementary schools, which is greatly eased by the passes.
“For some people, it was an issue to not have those Capstone passes,” Belson said. “A lot of research, especially observational studies, can only happen during the school day.”
After deliberation, passes were later made available, but the delay made it challenging for students such as herself, whose topic is focused on elementary schools, to start their primary research. “It was really important for me to have that opportunity,” she said.
Other students echoed the idea that Capstone passes are essential. Senior Claire Woodring emphasized that these projects benefit from real-world interaction that cannot be done inside the classroom.
“If a student can’t continue their research until they do an interview, or something similar that can’t happen in the school building, arguably more time is wasted by Caps students not doing anything in class because they can’t make any progress on their work in the classroom,” Woodring said.
Woodring added that while misuse may occur, the removal of passes would limit opportunities for meaningful research. “I think it’s important to keep in mind that this is a senior-only class,” Woodring said. “The people taking it are, or are about to be, adults, who are going to have to be responsible for themselves, and a special privilege like the Caps Pass is an opportunity to work on that.”
The passes remain available, with a few changes made to the system. The process to request a pass has not changed—students and teachers have their own personal conversations if there is a need for a pass, often requiring the student to be in good academic standing in the class.
Otherwise, passes can now only be used during long blocks or last blocks to ensure that students come back to school on time; students must ensure that their interviews are held within safe locations; students must retrieve all of their items before signing out to leave.
“We just want to make sure that we know where students are and that they’re getting back to school,” D’Andrea said.
D’Alise mentioned that another significant change involves the use of Memorial Hall Library during the secondary research phase. Previously, students were able to use the library for both primary and secondary research—now, passes can only be used for primary research, such as observations and interviews.
D’Andrea emphasized that the review process was for the system to be improved and for students’ safety to be maintained.
“I think the program has always been great. I had some questions about the process for the passes, and I think the collaboration with the teachers has been really positive,” said D’Andrea. “I’m a big supporter of the program because I think it’s great to give students an opportunity to do deep research in something that they’re interested in.”
D’Alise emphasized that the pass system enriches the Capstone course and has lifelong benefits.
“I would be extremely disappointed to see the [Capstone] pass eliminated from this class as it presents students with the opportunity to develop a number of skill sets beyond primary research, such as maturity, accountability, and responsibility,” D’Alise said. “These are skills that students will need as they leave AHS.”
