In May of 2016, MSB students and staff culminated their year-long Capstone Project on the foundations of the United States of America in Historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Below is an interactive map detailing stops they made on their journey. MSB’s Capstone Project is a year-long experiential project designed to help students develop the skills to manage and complete a multi-step, long-term project designed to transfer complex, abstract core concepts taught in the classroom to the world beyond school. During the MSB Capstone Project each student or group of students will select and research a topic, then design a project to be completed over the course of the school term. The MSB Capstone Project provides students with the opportunity to conduct an in-depth exploration into a topic of personal interest and apply grade-level core curriculum objectives as well as the Expanded Core Curriculum for the Blind and Visually Impaired objectives beyond the academic classroom. Each year the MSB Capstone Project focuses on grades 6-12 educational content and showcases the skills and abilities that will be expected of a successful post-secondary MSB student, employee and citizen. The Capstone Project addresses proficiency in core content knowledge, applied learning skills and support systems for all students. MSB staff will annually review assessment data and the Missouri Learning Standards to identify targeted, challenging and specific goals and objectives for each year’s Capstone Projects. Staff will identify regular checkpoints throughout the year to help student’s evaluate their learning/progress, facilitate formative evaluation and provide feedback as well as re-teaching, re-direction, direct instruction, work samples etc. as needed. The implementation of the MSB Capstone Project recognizes the need to insure that all MSB students successfully complete a rigorous high school diploma program that gives them access to college or post-secondary training, whether immediately following high school or when and if they choose.