Yesterday, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released the Ohio School Report Cards, which are designed to give each district a picture of progress in several areas. As a part of our five-year Strategic Plan, two of the areas of focus we identified are Student Learning and Student Experience. As a result, we are pleased to roll out the Reynoldsburg Portrait of a Graduate, which is our vision for 21st Century Learning and was developed with several teams made up of Reynoldsburg City Schools’ administrative leaders, principals, teachers, parents, and students. The Portrait of a Graduate identifies five competencies that every student in our District will strive to accomplish during their time at Reynoldsburg City Schools. These competencies represent areas that will help students have success after high school in rigorous post-secondary programs and in careers that may not even exist yet. This is a K-12 initiative and we are excited to have all buildings involved in this initiative.
The Reynoldsburg City Schools Portrait of a Graduate Competencies include:
1. Innovative Problem Solver: Able to use a deliberate process to creatively develop multiple solutions to authentic problems.
2. Socially and Emotionally Competent: Able to identify and regulate one’s own emotion to solve problems, communicate and build positive relationships.
3. Effective Communicator: Able to responsibly and effectively give and receive information across mediums while considering the needs of different audiences.
4. Collaborative: Able to accept personal accountability within a group dynamic and synthesize multiple perspectives to determine the best approach to complete a task.
5. Socially Aware and a Global Citizen: Culturally empathetic, compassionate, able to live, work collaborate and positively impact the local community and the world.
The Design Team that led this work facilitated retreats around deeper learning and then with our Administrative staff and then information was taken back to buildings for professional development and feedback. A parent and student focus group and then Building Leadership Teams were also asked for feedback about the new plan for 21st Century Learning.
“For a very long time, Reynoldsburg City Schools has been a leader in innovative teaching practices in Central Ohio, but the implementation of these practices was not consistent across buildings and classrooms, said RCS Chief Academic Officer Dr. Cosgrave. “We are excited we now have a guiding document that sets the expectation to ensure that all students in all schools engage in deeper learning experiences that will help them after high school.”
“The Portrait of a Graduate work is so important because it provides a set of common aspirations for our students,” said Herbert Mills STEAM Elementary Principal and Portrait of a Graduate Design Team Member. “It was such an honor to participate in the process of ideating around our hopes and dreams for our kids, and my hope is that by uniting administrators, teachers, and support staff around these goals, we will provide our students with the tools to be successful as they graduate and move out into the world.”
