This story was selected for Best of SNO, School Newspapers Online. 

Fashion websites, homeless-aiding organization, YouTube makeup channels and now coin-collecting and gifted education—what do these subjects have in common? The simple answer: a program called TPSP.

The Texas Performance Standards Project, or TPSP, is an independent studies course where juniors and seniors create and market their own product during the school year. Designed to be on par with a master’s thesis, students spend the first semester completing intensive research on their chosen subject, which they selected earlier in the year.

“In TPSP, because every student picks their own topic, sometimes assignments are tailored to the individual’s progress, but many generally help with how to stay organized and give speeches,” advisor Amy May said. “The grades can vary significantly, from speeches to checkpoints in research, to planning and designing the final product.”

During the second semester, students are required to have at least seven hours completed on their weekly logs, compared to the first semester’s four hours. This term focuses on the development of  their product, which can take the form of a non-profit organization, website or online store—the possibilities for their individual results are endless.

“Personally, I prefer the first semester over the second, as I could spend so much more time researching my topic,” junior Lauren Chumbley said. “One semester isn’t enough time to fully delve into my subject, gifted education.”

Through her first year of Ready Set Teach! (RST), Chumbley cultivated an interest in teaching.  After spending the first term of TPSP studying gifted education, she discovered a passion for Gifted and Talented (GT) students.

“Because of RST, I knew I wanted to study something education related, so I looked back at my own schooling [as a GT student] and realized we can improve gifted education greatly. While I wanted to distribute my product to all of Region 10, time restrictions mean that the product is instead geared towards the district,” Chumbley said. “For my product, I am creating a 10 minute video that will offer strategies to secondary general education teachers on how to help their gifted students reach their full potential, and during the professional development, they will receive a pamphlet with a complete list of tips, tricks and additional resources.”

Chumbley, however, makes up half of the entire roster, as junior Brandon Spiegel is the only other student in the class.

“Since there are only two of us, it truly feels like we’re in this together,” Chumbley said. “It’s more like a family than a class.”

Spiegel’s project focuses on his love for coin collecting, which has persisted for a great duration of his life.

“I’ve always liked collecting and studying coins, and in the future, I would really like to buy and sell coins. So if I could start something small now and learn more about coins and business, it would really help my career,” Spiegel said.

His central product is the creation of an online Amazon store, where he would sell starter sets to help people start collecting coins.

“As part of the set, I am writing a booklet that will give collectors information about U.S. coins and the coin market in a pocket-sized format,” Spiegel said. “From the beginning, I wanted to create a starter set, but throughout the year there have been alot of variations to what’s included in it and its execution.”

One issue that both students have had to deal with as the year progresses is their ability to manage their schoolwork, extracurriculars and social lives while also completing their products.

“I wish I could have changed my perspective on my work ethic, and how I have worked on some tasks. Some things I would spend hours on when I could find the answer to in the click of a button, and then there’s other times where I could have saved time by being more efficient with my time,”  Spiegel said.

While strong work ethic is a key component in TPSP, solid communication also has an important role in the course.

“The most integral part is communication; since junior year is already really stressful, and you have to do a lot for TPSP, there’s multiple times where you don’t know if you can get everything done,” Chumbley said. “That’s when I talk to Mrs. May to figure out my priorities and what needs to get done by when—without that, I would be really behind and would have pulled out most of my hair by now from stress.”

For the two, the second semester holds a much greater weight as the date for their presentations approaches May 23.

“I feel like the most difficult part is that it’s a real world project, and because it’s going to be so real, I want it to be the best it possibly can,” Spiegel said. “The scale of the project is much larger than I’ve had for any other class.”

Their presentations include a speech explaining their product as well as a display for the judges, who are professionals in the students’ chosen fields and are the ones who grade the presentations. The students’ work is judged on a one to five grading scale, one signifying the least accomplishment while a five represents the equivalent to a new discovery in that subject area.

“Most of us strive for fours, which means that you have added something to that field. By specifically addressing solutions to emotional issues that GT students have, I have the potential to score a five,” Chumbley said. “But to me if I change one teacher’s perspective on gifted education, I will have succeeded.”

Read more Blue Print articles about TPSP:

TPSP students create fashion site, movie night

TPSP student creates foundation focused on hearing loss communities 

Students in TPSP experience real life careers

Senior hosts engineering exploration for 8th graders 

Elders Helpers makes difference

Student writes book