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Signature Assignment: A Portrait of a Graduate for Diverse Learners and Communities

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Signature Assignment: A Portrait of a Graduate for Diverse Learners and Communities

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Joel Guerrero

Course 6 Diverse Learners, Families, and Communities (F23)

August 25, 2024

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Students will write each competency on a piece of poster paper. In small groups of three to four students, each group will create an anchor chart for their competency, they will then hang them on the walls and rotate. After two minutes, the groups rotate clockwise and continue the process until they return to their original competency. As a group read all of the responses and identify the top 5 key phrases and words that best represent their class. Each group will discuss as a class on their selections.

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Students will be assessed on our competencies everyday after class by completing exit tickets. How did they demonstrate one of the competencies that day? If they did not, how can they make sure they are enforcing these competencies daily? How can I as a teacher make sure they are successful in these competencies? For example, students will write "I was creative today by completing my project in art class," demonstrating the creativity competency.

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By utilizing positive reinforcement, teachers can praise students when they are demonstrating competencies in the classroom setting. By receiving positive reinforcement, students will know what is expected of them, to reinforce competencies daily. This will allow teachers to support and engage students with their 6-8 competencies and make sure students know them by heart.

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 1) Communication Skills

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 1) Communication Skills

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Teachers: Communication skills are essential to a classroom. Teachers can aid in the development of this competency by encouraging students to communicate their needs with them, talk to their peers, and do activities that require students to speak publicly in front of the class to get comfortable with public speaking.

Schools: Schools can offer speech/communication courses as part of their curriculum in which they will teach students the basics of communicating with others and strategies to be an effective communicator.

Families/Caregivers: When students go home families and/or caregivers can ask their child how their day was. Asking simple questions like "What was your favorite part about today?" and "What did you learn?" can aid in students recalling what they learned and being able to put it into words.

Community Members/Globally: Being able to communicate is essential in life. If children establish good communication skills they will be able to go out into the real world and communicate with those around them. Students can practice maybe speaking in their L2 and getting comfortable with it so they can speak to a 2nd population of people.

https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/8-ways-you-can-improve-your-communication-skills/

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 2) Collaboration

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 2) Collaboration

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Teachers: When setting up their classroom, teachers can place students into small groups, forcing them to collaborate with a partner and others.

School: Schools can come together and offer sports and make clubs within their school to teach children the importance of collaboration and teamwork.

Families/Caregivers: These values should be instilled at a young age. You do not only work in groups at schools, but also at home. Helping out around the house when needed provides excellent collaboration skills and shows students what it means to be apart of a team and/or family.

Community Members/Globally: When crisis strikes in neighboring cities or states, gathering supplies and donations as a community can show students what it means to come together and collaborate with one another for a greater good.

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 4) Problem Solving

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 4) Problem Solving

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Teachers: Teachers can encourage students to figure things out on their own before asking their teacher. Students can try to ask their peers or get online when needing help solving a problem. Of course, their teacher will be there for them, but it doesn't hurt to try and solve a problem on your own first before getting help. This is an important life skill.

School: Schools can have school guidance counselors who will instill problem solving techniques and values to students who visit them. Along with talking about our feelings, it is equally important to be able to know how to not let our problems get too big and get the best of us.

Families/Caregivers: Allowing students to mess up and learn from their mistakes is a good value to have instilled in an early age. When a student makes a mistake at home, explaining to them what they did wrong and allowing them to fix it teaches them excellent problem solving skills.

Community Members/Globally: Students can learn about problems that other countries or states are facing and brainstorm solutions to those problems. Students will stay informed and know what to do if any of those problems arise where they reside. Community members such as police officers and firefighters can come to schools and give presentations on what students should do if they find themselves in certain predicaments such as: getting a flat tire, getting into a fender bender, or finding themselves inside a smoking building.

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 3) Creativity

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 3) Creativity

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Teachers: In the classroom teachers can stimulate creativity through projects and activities. Allowing students to be creative and complete work how they learn best is them being creative. Giving students options instead of them sticking to one method of learning will allow their gears to shift.

School: Schools can offer art classes and fine arts classes to allow students to unleash their inner artist. Offering different creative outlets such as art class, band, robotics, book club, dance class, drama club and things of that sort will allow students to tap into their creativity.

Families/Caregivers: Families can develop their children's creative skills by encouraging them to figure things out on their own sometimes. For example, when students ask their parents "What can I eat for breakfast?" Parents can give them the option to get creative in the kitchen and find something that they have at home to eat. Families can also allow their children to express themselves through clothes, music, interests, and personality.

Community Members/Globally: Having museums who showcase students creative side would be an awesome way for the community to get together and showcase the arts, therefore promoting this competency.

https://workshop4me.org/blog/f/creative-outlets

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 5) Technology Skills and Digital Literacy

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 5) Technology Skills and Digital Literacy

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Teachers: Teachers can incorporate technology into their everyday routine of things. By allowing students to use technology for some assignments they are promoting digital literacy and helping further the development of this competency.

Schools: Schools can make sure they have adequate funds so they are able to provide Chromebooks for every classroom and student, or have a computer lab with access to a computer should a student need one.

Families/Caregivers: Families can show students how to use technology at an early age. This can start by getting them a Kindle to read on, or a Leapfrog to practice reading on.

Community Members/Globally: Police officers can come to schools and give presentations on what it means to be safe online. Students can also use technology to keep up with current events happening around the world.

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 6) Literacy Skills

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A Portrait of a Graduate: (Competency 6) Literacy Skills

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Teachers: From an early age, it is a teachers job to make sure her students have literacy skills. Teaching students their phonics, prefixes, suffixes, and how to blend sounds together is important for the foundation of their literacy skills. Making sure to really stress the importance of literacy and reading to students can help aid in these literacy skills. Teachers testing students for comprehension, listening, writing, and speaking skills will help sharpen their literacy skills.

Schools: Schools can have school libraries ready for children to check out books and have their librarian explain the importance of reading. Maybe allowing for library socials to be done if so many books are read would be a good way to get students to read more.

Families/Caregivers: Families can start reading to their children at an early age to plant the seed for the love of reading to grow within them. That way, when they get to school they are excited about reading and literacy. Also, encouraging their students to read not only at school but at home too will help aid in the development of their literacy skills.

Community Members/Globally: Students can read books in other languages to develop their literacy skills. They can watch videos of how students in other countries read and how literacy is taught. Community members can also donate books to school to emphasize the importance of this competency.

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Through learning about the 21st Century Competencies, my eyes have been opened to all the ways I can support my students. It is crucial that I implement these competencies daily and instill them into my children so they can be successful in life. Ways that I will apply them into my classroom will be: engaging students with technology more, doing exit tickets asking how they exhibited 1+ of the competencies, using positive reinforcement when I see someone doing the competencies, and being an advocate for my students. Allowing myself to be that safe space for my students will allow them to grow in my classroom. Creating fun and engaging activities where they have to utilize and exhibit the 21st Century Competencies will be done in my classroom to further support and make sure they are a high-school graduate.

https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/comprehensive-guide-portrait-of-a-graduate

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https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/8-ways-you-can-improve-your-communication-skills/

https://workshop4me.org/blog/f/creative-outlets

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Many school district leaders are coalescing around the idea of a Portrait of a Graduate, asking the question: how can we bridge the gap between high school graduation and what comes next?

In today's world, the demands for students are tremendous as they move on to college, career, and adult life. It's no longer enough to just graduate on time with the right academic credentials.

That's why creating a Portrait of a Graduate may be at the top of the agenda for you and your team. Unique to each district, a Portrait of a Graduate outlines the 21st century skills that a district believes their students should embody and exemplify by graduation.

A Portrait of a Graduate is a great way to align school operations and pedagogy around a collective vision for student success. With this vision, your community is taking a strong stance on what it means for your students to be college, career, and life ready. You are also reinforcing your commitment to supporting the whole child in a way that goes beyond test scores.

If your district is ready to join the Portrait of a Graduate movement this school year, this guide is for you. You'll learn strategies for creating, implementing, and measuring the success of a Portrait of a Graduate in your community. You'll also see real examples from districts that have brought their graduate visions to life.

Learn how DC Public Schools uses Panorama to measure their Portrait of a Graduate.

1. What Is a Portrait of a Graduate? 2. How to Create a Portrait of a Graduate 3. Strategies for Portrait of a Graduate Implementation 4. Portrait of a Graduate Examples and Resources
What Is a Portrait of a Graduate?

The process of building and implementing a Portrait of a Graduate is a community effort. Typically, districts bring together students, staff, teachers, community leaders, business leaders, and school administrators to create the portrait. These stakeholders come together to discuss the responsibilities and goals of public schools in their local community, as well as the traits and skills that students will need the most to be successful in adult life.

Once the traits are finalized, the district submits the Portrait of a Graduate to its Board of Education. The end deliverable gets incorporated into the district's strategic plan and serves as a public-facing north star.

It's important to note that a district's Portrait of a Graduate is meant to complement academics and test scores as measures of preparedness. While it does not replace a focus on academic achievement, it shows the district community's commitment to investing in educational experiences that educate the whole child.

The Importance of a Portrait of a Graduate for Students

National data on postsecondary student outcomes highlights the need for district leaders-alongside community stakeholders and students-to redefine what student success means in schools. Here are some trends to be aware of:

Within the Portrait of a Graduate movement, districts are responding to these challenges with a deep focus on students' life skills-also known as 21st century skills or SEL skills-that supplement and enhance students' content mastery.

According to the 2018 Gallup Superintendents survey, 66 percent of superintendents ranked SEL/21st-Century Skills as a key area of need and a lever for improving students' college and career readiness.
How to Create a Portrait of a Graduate

1. Form a Portrait of a Graduate committee.

2. Engage community members in discussion.

3. Brainstorm and vet Portrait of a Graduate skills.

4. Create a visual representation.

1. Form a Portrait of a Graduate committee

The first step in creating your Portrait of a Graduate is to invite a group of participants. The most successful districts invite a variety of stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community and business leaders.

You'll also need to select a facilitator, whether it's someone from your community or a professional.

Some districts like Sonoma County have expanded their Portrait of a Graduate conversations even further through the use of surveys.

2. Engage community members in discussion

Orient your committee's dialogue around key questions. Here are some questions sourced from districts.

From Sonoma County in California: What are the hopes, aspirations and dreams that our community has for our young people?

From Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District in Texas: What traits, skills, and mindsets do students need to be successful, regardless of the area they choose to pursue?

3. Brainstorm and vet Portrait of a Graduate skills

When considering skills and mindsets, the 4 C's designed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) -critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication-can be a strong starting point. This popular framework also includes life skills such as flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity, leadership and literacy skills such as information literacy, media literacy, technology literacy.

You might also consider language that honors the core values of your community. What are the skills and traits that community members take pride in and hope to pass on to their students and children?

Once you have a working draft, review your language from diverse perspectives to ensure it is inclusive of all students. For example, how might words like "self-reliant" and "citizenship" be interpreted? As a community contract, your Portrait of a Graduate must be widely circulated and thoroughly vetted.
Widely used Portrait of a Graduate skills and attributes:

Creative and critical thinker

Problem solver

Solution seeker

Lifelong learner

Self-regulated learner

Effective communicator

Innovator

Collaborator

Ethical and global citizen

Goal-directed and resilient individual

Dynamic leader

4. Create a visual representation

Next, it's time to create the end product-the visual representation.

Visual expression can be a powerful element. Districts use a variety of templates and shapes for their portraits, from silhouettes of graduates to circular badges. Some school districts, such as Humble Independent School District in Texas, even engage student artists to emphasize the element of student and community ownership in the Portrait of a Graduate process.

Strategies for Portrait of a Graduate Implementation

Once you've created your Portrait of a Graduate, don't stop there. Done well, a Portrait of a Graduate should guide district decisions around everything from classroom pedagogy, to human resources, to financial services and operations.

Create system alignment

Once complete, the committee should submit the Portrait of a Graduate for school board review and approval.

After it is approved, take the time to embed the vision into your strategic plan, website, and mission statement. Identify the initiatives and programs that will help students develop these competencies, and begin to design learning processes that integrate these traits into the classroom for all grade levels.

Operationalize your Portrait of a Graduate with measurement

Next, determine how you will measure progress for all students toward your Portrait of a Graduate vision.

Using instruments like the Panorama Social-Emotional Learning Survey, your district can gather valid and reliable data from students on their development of Portrait of a Graduate traits. The Panorama survey is customizable and aligns to CASEL competencies like Social Awareness and Self-Management.

You can easily map Panorama survey topics to your Portrait of a Graduate framework. For example, learn how District of Columbia Public Schools cross-walked their "Loved, Challenged, and Prepared" traits to the Panorama survey.

With a college and career readiness platform like Panorama, you can also look at your Portrait of a Graduate data alongside other college and career readiness indicators such as SAT scores, credit accumulation, course performance, attendance, and behavior. A holistic view of each child helps district-level staff, principals, counselors, and teachers understand exactly where students may be off track, and how to best help them.

A student report from Schertz-Cibolo-Universal-City ISD in Panorama (not real student data)

Provide educators and staff with ongoing professional development

Remember that it all starts with adults. Do educators deeply understand the Portrait of a Graduate traits? Do they feel equipped to help students develop these skills? Do educators themselves embody the traits you're promoting?

Build adult capacity around these skills and mindsets by focusing on adult SEL and self-care. Data can also play a powerful role in professional development. Imagine a room full of educators discussing trends in school-level data, identifying students who need additional support, and setting concrete goals to ensure every student is progressing towards your Portrait of a Graduate vision.

Bring your Portrait of a Graduate to life across the community

Most importantly, continue to communicate and celebrate your vision.

Hold interviews with the student and community newspapers. Recognize students on social media for exemplifying the traits of a graduate, like in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District.

Incorporate the Portrait of a Graduate into your meetings at every level. Discuss how your vision can be equitably implemented for all students. Engage staff, administrators, and students in conversations about what the portrait means to them.
Portrait of a Graduate Examples and Resources
Finally, make resources accessible for parents and teachers across elementary school, middle school, and high school to help cultivate these traits, mindsets, and skills in students.
Browse the #PortraitofaGraduate hashtag on Twitter for more inspiring examples.
School District Examples

Additional Resources to Explore

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A Comprehensive Guide to a Portrait of a Graduate

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A Portrait of a Graduate represents a school district's vision for the 21st century skills, character traits, and/or social-emotional competencies that students need to succeed in college, career, and life.