Portrait of a Graduate

Overview of the Project

Portrait of a Graduate involves framing a vision of hopes, aspirations, and dreams that our community has for our young people. Our shared vision allows all students to have an educational experience that prepares them to become lifelong learners and contributors. This shared agreement is a unique community-owned picture of what graduates need for success.

Representation on Our Portrait Team

Building a dynamic team that is highly diverse and effectively represents all aspects of our community will contribute to the success of the ultimate outcome. It also sets the stage for a strong base of support in the broader community. Through this inclusive process, the Portrait of a Graduate becomes the community’s collective vision for its students.

The Five Attributes

Curiosity:  Ability to ask questions and seek answers; to synthesize knowledge and connect ideas in new ways and bring unique perspectives; to think critically about complex problems; open to new ideas

Flexibility:  Ability to demonstrate perseverance in tasks and thinking, to show resilience and adaptability to overcome challenges and situations; to adapt in the face of challenges  in thinking and action (learn, unlearn, re-learn)

Emotional Intelligence:  Composed of self-awareness/regulation (self) and social awareness (others), empathy, motivation, and social skills, emotional intelligence allows us to work collaboratively in interconnected environments. (Goleman, 1995) Ability to perspective take; to sense the motives of others and respond with care and concern; to connect deeply and relationally; to express this to others verbally and non-verbally; Ability to earn the trust of others and motivate others to action; the vision for the desired outcome that is communally shared and fostered by the leader; a servant of others; coach others in both actions and in mindset

Communication Skills:  Ability to transfer information from one place, person or group to another; to collaborate with others to learn and accomplish tasks; listen actively with an ear to understanding others’ views, paraphrase and ask follow up questions

Initiative:  Ability to commit to action; to consider multiple perspectives in order to take action; to navigate both people and knowledge to pursue goals; to take risks; have the skills to learn how to learn; set goals;  to avoid blame or victimhood; not a passive observer; finds their voice

The Portrait of a Graduate team created this video that explains how the 5 attributes were developed.