In the aftermath of No Child Left Behind and the high-stakes testing era, districts across the country had a collective moment of clarity; years of instruction driven by testing culture had created a growing gap in what students were learning in K12 education and what they would need to be successful adults in a dynamic and rapidly evolving world.
In response, thousands of districts, and even some states, developed what are commonly known as portraits of a graduate, laying out their community vision for the skills, attributes, and mindsets that would set students on a path to success.
But what do you do once the portrait is completed? How might districts fully operationalize their portrait so that it is not only embedded within their current system, but actually acts as a catalyst for reimagining what is necessary in terms of a child’s K12 education? In working with districts across our region on a variety of portrait projects, here are a few of our key design takeaways:
Here are six ways to begin moving toward a dynamic portrait:
Identify “look fors” or “I can…” statements for grade bands or grade levels.
- One of the primary challenges of moving a portrait to action requires translating key skills and competencies into tangible demonstrations of learning across all grade levels. Problem-solving as a skill will look quite different for a kindergartener versus a senior, and while that might seem obvious, it is essential to work with grade-level educators to clearly define such terms.
Drive toward a capstone project.
- Whether graduation projects, work-based learning experiences, or service learning, look for the opportunities for students to practice and demonstrate portrait competencies in a real-world context. Most portrait skills cannot be learned through traditional instruction; students need authentic experiences in which they can grow and demonstrate portrait competencies.
Align your portrait with the new CEW Standards.
- The PA Department of Education will be launching new Career Education and Work Standards in July 2026, including a focus on employability skills. While PA does not have a statewide portrait model, the employability substrands in the new standards include many of the most common portrait skills, such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and even work ethic. If your district already has a strong 339 infrastructure for engaging students in their career ready work, this may be a time to create a portrait that closely aligns with those emerging standards.
Map your portrait skills and attributes to current district initiatives.
- For many districts, the portrait can suffer from a sense of being “just one more thing” that educators have to navigate in an already packed schedule of frameworks, curriculum, habits of mind (and the list goes on). In many cases, districts may find that the portrait maps closely with established initiatives such as PBIS, house systems, or career readiness.
Establish consistency and routine.
- Reflection is a key component of skill-building. As students move throughout their year, leverage their artifacts of learning into student-led conferences in which students speak to their work, and how it relates to the portrait skills and competencies. Talking to students about skills is a start; having students talk about their own skill development will establish consistency long-term.
Create messaging specifically for parents and the community.
- Districts often develop their portraits in collaboration with parents and community members, but don’t necessarily take the next step to create resources for deeper engagement. Consider sharing regular strategies for parents to support the portrait skills at home; if businesses and organizations offered input during the portrait design process, how might those partnerships expand into authentic learning opportunities for students?
