Every school system is unique, but connected by a shared aspiration: that all students have an educational experience preparing them to be effective lifelong learners and contributors to society. Now more than ever, that experience not only provides for the acquisition of rigorous academic content, but it must also be more intentional about fostering critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and other skills our young people need to thrive in this complex, rapidly changing world. 

Many school systems across the country have engaged their larger community in developing a Portrait of a Graduate, a collective vision that articulates the community’s aspirations for all students. Locally developed, but globally positioned, the Portrait of a Graduate serves as a North Star for system transformation. Providing strategic direction for the redesign of the overall educational experience for students, this collective vision reinvigorates and re-engages students, teachers and community stakeholders.