Across New York State, district leaders are preparing for NYS Inspires, which redefines what it means to graduate and includes a Portrait of a Graduate (PoG). While timelines and requirements will continue to evolve, the direction is clear: graduate success is no longer defined only by credits, courses, or test scores, but by the skills, competencies, and dispositions students demonstrate as they move beyond K–12.
Many districts are already having important conversations about what this means in practice.
The challenge isn’t the vision. It’s the evidence.
The six core attributes outlined by New York State – including critical thinking, effective communication, creativity, global citizenship, and reflection – resonate with educators and leaders alike. These are not new ideas. In many cases, this kind of learning is already happening in classrooms across the state.
The harder question is operational: How will districts evidence this work?
How do you:
- Show your board that PoG goals are being realized?
- Demonstrate consistency across schools without enforcing uniformity?
- Share meaningful progress with families and communities?
- Feel confident standing behind what you present to the state?
The challenge isn’t defining graduate skills… It’s making them visible.
A shift from plans to practice.
As districts move from vision-setting into implementation planning, the focus naturally shifts from frameworks to real examples of learning.
PoG places emphasis on:
- Application, not just knowledge
- Growth over time, not one-off moments
- Skills demonstrated through authentic work
That means evidence will likely look less like a single data point, and more like:
- Student projects
- Performance tasks
- Reflections and goal-setting
- Cross-curricular work
- Artifacts that show how learning develops over time
This kind of evidence already exists in many districts. The challenge is that it’s often fragmented, living in individual classrooms, schools, or platforms, without a clear way to bring it together.
Why this is difficult at the district level.
From a district perspective, this work is complex by nature.
Learning aligned to the PoG:
- Happens across subjects and grade levels
- Looks different in different schools
- Is often embedded in everyday instruction, not labeled explicitly
As a result, district leaders are often left with a familiar tension:
“We know good work is happening, but how do we show it clearly and consistently?”
Without visibility, it becomes harder to:
- Answer board-level questions with confidence
- See patterns across schools
- Support principals and teachers with aligned examples
- Build a coherent district story around graduate outcomes
The issue isn’t effort or intent… it’s coherence and visibility.
What districts are beginning to think about now
While every district is in a different place, many are starting with a few common questions:
- What learning experiences already align to the six attributes?
- How can we support teachers with outcome-focused tasks rather than new mandates?
- Where can examples of student work live so they’re easy to revisit and share?
- How do we show growth over time, not just snapshots?
Importantly, this work doesn’t require reinventing instruction. In many cases, it’s about surfacing and connecting what already exists.
Making student learning visible, without adding complexity.
Some districts are beginning to explore simple ways to bring this evidence together. Collecting student work, reflections, and examples of learning in shared spaces that make outcomes easier to see.
Platforms like Wakelet are being used to support this work by:
- Bringing artifacts and reflections into one place
- Organizing evidence around outcomes rather than tools or courses
- Making learning shareable with leaders, families, and communities
The goal isn’t to introduce another initiative… It’s to create clarity.
Preparing for what comes next
PoG invites districts to think differently about how success is defined and demonstrated. While guidance will continue to evolve, one thing is already true:
Districts that begin thinking about evidence now – not just plans – will be better positioned to respond with confidence later.
The question to consider is simple:
If you were asked to show how your students are demonstrating the six Portrait of a Graduate attributes today, what would you share?
If that question feels hard to answer, you’re not alone, and it may be the right place to start.
Interested in seeing examples of how districts are beginning to make student skills visible in practice? Explore how Wakelet is being used to bring graduate outcomes to life.
