The Ridge Point High School

LOC Project for Seniors

LOC is an acronym for Leading Our Community. At Ridge Point High School, we ask every senior to participate in a community service project of their design. We use the project as a topic for research and writing assignments and practicing real-life communication skills. 

FOCUS of the Leading Our Community (LOC) Project

Essential Question: What challenges exist in the communities I belong to and how can I use my talents to make a positive impact in response to these challenges?

PURPOSE OF THE LEADING OUR COMMUNITY (LOC) PROJECT

Completed under the direction of your English teacher, the Leading Our Community (LOC) Project is intended to showcase your strengths, skills, and interests in a focal area of your choice and should demonstrate your ability to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information as it relates to a community issue and communicate significant knowledge and understanding to a particular audience. Further, it should apply learning to real-life situations and should be an experience above and beyond the state’s minimum curriculum expectations. This opportunity to explore knowledge in an area of your specific interest is exactly what FBISD means when identifying the desire to graduate students prepared to be “life-long learners.”

The LOC Project gives you a chance to use your talents and interests to impact society while developing a deeper, more complex understanding of the world around you and an enhanced sense of empathy for others. Throughout this project, you have an exceptional amount of freedom to create experiences that are meaningful to you. Helping you learn to problem-solve and manage your own goals is the best gift we can give you before you graduate. LOC Projects have shown us that asking you to select, plan, implement, document, evaluate, and present a meaningful project of your own design is an excellent way to prepare you for the world outside of high school regardless of what you decide to pursue after graduation.

Through this project, you will learn...

• about your project topic and gain skills relevant to the issue.
• how to solve real-life problems.
• to deal with adults who you do not know well in a professional setting.
• how to recover from setbacks, and how valuable good communication skills are.

Through this process, you may...

• discover that you have found your path in life.
• find that the path you thought you would take isn’t right for you.
• find a new hobby.
• develop a talent or discover a talent.
• try something you never thought you would try.

Semester 1

• Phase 1- Proposal, Outline, Plan
• Phase 2- Interview Mentor/Video Check-ins

Semester 2

• Phase 3- Research Paper
• Phase 4- Documentary Presentation

 HOW TO CHOOSE A PROJECT

Choose a project that you WANT to do – because you love it, because it will be helpful for your next stage of life, or because it sounds so interesting that you just have to do it. This is a great opportunity for you to stretch yourself, grow, and think OUTSIDE of the school building. Show who you are and what you care about.

Don’t choose a project because it sounds easy or because other people tell you that you should do it.

More specifically, select a LOC Project that requires you to...

• network in the community outside of school and family (mentors, agencies, businesses).
• explore a passion that connects to your future.
• apply academic learning to a vocational, academic, or community interest.
• extend your learning in a way that classroom instruction cannot.
• develop personal initiative, intrinsic motivation, and resourcefulness.
• work and overcome challenges to achieve your goal(s).
• impact the community.

 Must students have a Mentor?

Students must establish contact with at least one expert in their field of choice who they are required to interview during the first semester. Most students prefer to find an expert who can advise them throughout the project, in other words, a “mentor.” However, this is not possible in all cases. It is recommended that students have at least two contacts with the mentor/expert. This person must be someone with experience/expertise on a relevant aspect of the student’s chosen project domain and may not be an immediate family member of the person/people leading the project.

Partnerships are possible. Seniors may work in groups of up to 4 students. However, this project is meant to be a culmination of your school career and meaningful to YOU. You should NOT choose a partnership if it conflicts with pursuing something you are truly invested in and passionate about.