District Graduate Profiles

A community-developed portrait of a graduate can act as a North Star to unite diverse school and district stakeholder groups around a common vision for its students. A portrait of a graduate (or graduate profile) is a tool that a school or district uses to communicate a broad set of competencies and skills – like collaboration, adaptability, or a growth mindset – that they want students to have when they graduate. It is a clear visualization of priority goals for teaching and learning that can be easily understood and used by students, parents, faculty, and staff.

To support communities in creating a portrait of a graduate, CEI has designed an intentional process that has been effectively implemented in several communities. First, schools/districts build empathy with an array of community members – business professionals, families, civic leaders, students, and staff – to collect data about what their hopes and dreams are for learners and graduates in their systems. Then, we support a core team to analyze and theme this data to identify the most important skills for the community. After creating and revising prototypes based on these themes, the process culminates in the creation of a final, polished product. Schools, districts, and communities across the state have leveraged their portrait of a graduate as permission and/or motivation to pursue new teaching and learning experiences to support students in practicing and demonstrating the skills and competencies in their unique portraits.

Alamosa

Clear Creek

Delta

East Grand

Elizabeth

Fremont

Holyoke

Lewis Palmer

Mesa County Valley 51

Montezuma-Cortez

Summit

Weld Re-1

West Grand