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Watertown schools update ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ program; committee expands student opportunities
Summary
Staff presented an annual update on the Portrait of a Graduate initiative, describing expanded elementary alignment, job-shadowing, Adulting 101, Cyclone Academy enrollment increases, elective fairs, Graduate Walk and community partnerships; the board discussed student participation and scaling.
Amber Misericola, lead of the district’s Portrait of a Graduate committee, gave an update to the Watertown City School District Board of Education on work to align skills and attributes across prekindergarten through grade 12 to prepare students for employment, military service, college and entrepreneurship.
Misericola said the committee — about 12 members that started work in 2021 — expanded efforts in the past year to reach elementary schools and strengthen links between classroom instruction and community needs. “When we talk about our graduate from Watertown High School, they’re going to possess work ethic. They’re going to embrace honesty, integrity, and diversity,” Misericola said. She described a year of activities that included elective fairs to help students choose classes aligned to their goals, job-shadowing with district staff and local employers, a winter-blast day of hands-on activities for students, and a renewed Adulting 101 course that emphasizes workplace and life skills.
Misericola told the board the committee holds focus groups with employers, college enrollment staff and military recruiters to ground the graduate profile in local workforce expectations. She said the district offered an elective fair “2.0” and expanded the Graduate Walk so seniors travel through multiple elementary and intermediate schools to reconnect with earlier teachers. The Portrait of a Graduate effort also supported targeted field trips (a paper mill, a landfill, farmers market), and helped relaunch student services (formerly office services) that lets students work with staff during free periods to gain career skills. She said Cyclone Academy enrollment rose; district staff reported 53 enrolled and about 30 additional students interested in the second semester.
Misericola noted alignment between the district’s portrait and New York State’s Blue Ribbon Commission guidance on graduate competencies and highlighted national recognition: several committee members attended the National Dropout Prevention Conference and were invited to present on Cyclone Academy.
Board members asked how students sign up for activities and courses tied to the portrait. Misericola said winter-blast events require signups (the first year saw roughly 684 students sign; more recently 880) and that student-services roles use an application reviewed by the committee. Trustees praised the program’s growth and discussed scaling Adulting 101 and coordination with guidance for schedule adjustments for students with outside responsibilities.
No board action was requested or taken at the meeting; trustees thanked committee members and asked staff to continue outreach and reporting to the board.
