What does the Portrait of a Graduate look like?
December 5, 2024 at 2:04 a.m.
School districts across the state will be seeing major changes in the foreseeable future.
After the New York State Education Department (NYSED) created the Blue Ribbon Commission to reevaluate high school graduation requirements, the Board of Regents adopted the “NY Inspires” plan.
The plan will see districts undergo four “transformations” to adjust to the new educational philosophy over the next five years to promote high level skills and equity in the public school system. They are:
*Adopting the New York State Portrait of a Graduate
*Redefining credits and learning experiences
*Sunsetting diploma assessment requirements
*Moving to one high school diploma
The changes being made are meant to align students’ education experience, skillsets and schools’ curriculum with the Portrait of a Graduate, which serves as an end goal for school districts.
The Portrait of a Graduate refers to a group of seven skillsets identified by the Education Department that serve as indicators for success in and beyond an academic setting.
The seven traits are:
*Being critical thinkers
*Being an innovative problem solver
*Demonstrating literacy across all content areas
*Being culturally competent
*Being socially-emotionally competent
*Having effective communication skills
*Being a global citizen
According to the NYSED website, the list will be finalized before Summer 2025 and may see changes before then.
Port Chester Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez said the district has taken the list and is starting to have conversations on how it will be implemented in the schools.
“We have a profile of what a Port Chester High School graduate should look like in terms of these skills,” she said. “Now, we’re aiming to define how our students will get there.”
She said discussions have begun on what students must learn through their time in the district to achieve those competencies.
“This concept has us drilling down and taking a closer look at the bigger academic picture here,” Henriquez said. “We have a Portrait of a Graduate, now we’re thinking about what a portrait of an elementary school student and middle school student look like.”
It’s a task she feels the district is prepared for.
“This really aligns with our data-informed work that we’ve been doing for the last three years,” the superintendent said. “If you take a look at our strategic plan and mission statement, we use language found in the Portrait of a Graduate, which leads into creating successful students.”
The inclusion of that language came at the suggestion of Trustee JoAnne Ferrara, who wanted to make sure the district was prepared for the upcoming changes being mandated by the state.
The list of skills will be the framework for how districts apply the other transformations, though plans have yet to be made on how that will work.
“We’re told that these proficiencies serve as indicators for success in students,” Henriquez said. “We know there’s a focus on real-world challenges, but it has yet to be determined how those skills will be assessed. It may involve projects or portfolios, but we aren’t prepared to speak on that.”
NY Inspires has drawn some criticism for its removal of mandatory Regents examinations, vague language regarding academic results and lack of definitions for “cultural” and “social-emotional competency” or “global citizenship.”
Trustee George Ford drew attention to that during the Nov. 21 Board of Education meeting, expressing interest in inviting Dr. Roberta Rubel Schaefer, who has written columns about these upcoming graduation changes in this newspaper, to speak on the issues in the future.
Though, Board President Chrissie Onofrio was quick to point out that Schaefer’s writings are one person’s perspective.
“She certainly has a lot of qualifications and experience, but they are opinion letters, and we want to make sure that everyone is getting their information from multiple verified sources,” she said.
According to the NYSED, full implementation of NY Inspires is expected in Fall 2029.
“Everything’s currently in the planning phase right now,” Henriquez said. “It’s still very early in terms of what the four transformations will look like in schools. For instance, we’re not ready to discuss how credits and learning experiences will be redefined. But as more information is rolled out, we will notify our community.”
Comments:
You must login to comment.