(05/17/2024) At Jackson Middle School - A Specialty School for Math and Science (JMS), students in eighth grade participate in a capstone project at the end of the school year. Students choose a topic and decide whether to work alone or in a group.

The goal of the project is to bring learning into the real world and students are asked to choose an issue that is important to them, research the issue, and then create an action plan to make an impact. 

Students often choose a topic of passion and then create a plan to make a difference in the community. 

JMS students Laila Pankow, Mariam Medina, Claire Lien and Amelia Wilson did just that, making an impact on fellow Anoka-Hennepin students across the river in Coon Rapids.

“The capstone project brings students together to do good things for the world and help others,” Lien said.  

The foursome researched the impact of teen pregnancy and created a plan for a donation drive to support students in the district’s Compass Teen Parenting Program (TPP). 

They connected with administrators in the TPP program to learn more about how they support students and items in need. They reached out to local organizations and eventually created a promotional flyer to solicit donations for their cause. They connected with neighboring Oxbow Creek Elementary School and displayed their flyers during the school’s Arts and Academics Expo to reach more of the community.