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School Committee approves final Portrait of a Westwood Graduate content; student design workshop planned
Summary
The committee reviewed and advanced the district’s Portrait of a Westwood Graduate, endorsing four graduate attributes and approving a student design workshop to create a graphic representation that will guide strategic planning.
The Westwood School Committee reviewed the district’s final content for a Portrait of a Westwood Graduate and approved moving to a design phase that will engage students in creating a graphic representation.
Superintendent Tim Penrod presented the distilled portrait, which frames graduates as: critical and creative thinkers; collaborative communicators; individuals who act with integrity; and learners who engage locally and globally. Penrod said the document is intended to guide multi‑year strategic planning and to be inclusive of students “pre‑K to 22.”
Why it matters: the Portrait of a Graduate is the district’s statement of the skills and dispositions it wants students to leave with; staff described it as a foundation for curriculum and strategic priorities. Penrod said the working group used surveys, listening sessions and multiple stakeholder meetings to refine language and address community feedback, including requests to emphasize content mastery, ethical technology use and integrity.
Next steps The district has arranged a half‑day design workshop at Westwood High School with a graphic designer from Doran Witte, the district’s architectural firm, and a representative cross‑section of students. The designer will develop artwork from the session for broader community review; staff said the visual will be used to inform strategic planning work to follow.
Committee comments Committee members praised the stakeholder process and student involvement, and said the four‑area structure should be something teachers and schools can adopt and adapt to grade levels and classrooms. Penrod said the next phase—turning the portrait into strategic goals and implementation steps—will be discussed at the March meeting.
Ending Staff asked committee members to expect a public share of the graphic and further discussion of strategies in March as the district aligns curriculum reviews and implementation plans to the adopted portrait.
