Plum Borough SD unveils 'Portrait of a Graduate,' board agrees to embed it in upcoming comprehensive plan

The Plum Borough School District presented a finalized "Portrait of a Graduate" and the board voted to move the design forward and begin embedding it in the district's comprehensive plan.

The portrait, developed by a design team of about 83 community members, lists five competencies—communication, integrity, critical thinking, adaptability and empathy—and includes age‑appropriate language for K–6 and grades 7–12. "The portrait is just an opportunity for a community to come together and say what is our common vision and how are we going to get there?" said Doctor Boyers, who led the initiative.

Board members said the district will not treat the portrait as an isolated document. Doctor Walsh and other administrators described plans to integrate the competencies into professional development, curriculum and school culture. Doctor Walsh said the district sought an extension from the Pennsylvania Department of Education so the portrait can be embedded in a five‑year comprehensive plan.

District materials presented to the board said the design team held four focused two‑hour meetings and open community sessions; organizers collected qualitative feedback and used an app during sessions to compile and display input. "Stakeholders were involved from a variety of aspects of the district and it represents the needs," Doctor Boyers said when reviewing design‑team feedback.

Student representative Drew Thacker said the design felt more modern and practical than the district's previous logo, arguing for earlier exposure to critical thinking and problem solving: "...in an age where AI is almost everything, it still feels like we're living in an age where we need to remember, hey—what's the powerhouse of a cell? Even though we can easily look that up." Thacker supported starting competency work in middle school.

Administrators and board members said next steps include formal action during the February 25 action meeting to adopt the visual and to launch communications (digital backpack notices to families, staff briefings) so classroom implementation can begin by August. The board also reviewed and agreed to forward three PDE‑required steering committees for comprehensive planning, induction and professional development into the PDE submission process.

The board’s vote to "move the design forward" was recorded by the chair as having five in favor, with no named nay votes given during the discussion.