Work group seeks to make Camas School District’s 'Profile of a Graduate' actionable in classrooms and assessments

Derek and Doreen presented the Profile of a Graduate work-group update at the April 14 Camas School District workshop, describing efforts to turn the district strategic plan's graduate attributes into classroom practice. "The profile of a grad is this North Star almost of our system," a presenter said, describing the group's central aim to make the profile actionable in daily teaching and learning.

The work group organized ideas across five broad themes: strengthening curriculum and instructional alignment; social-emotional learning (SEL) and community engagement; visibility and communications for the profile of a graduate; defining and measuring student success; and staff accountability and professional reflection. Suggested actions ranged from revisiting standards and identifying intentional curriculum resources to including profile-linked comments on report cards and developing grade-level adaptations so students understand the language at an age-appropriate level.

Under curriculum alignment, presenters proposed aligning standards and grading practices with the profile attributes and leveraging existing resources such as teacher librarians and elementary specialists. For SEL and community engagement, the group suggested broader training (including paraeducators and transportation staff), student-led service projects and partnerships with local retirement communities and food banks.

Visibility and communication ideas included consistent family communications, multimedia student stories, and embedding profile tools in classroom platforms. Presenters highlighted the district's planned adoption of the statewide School Links platform by 2025–26 and suggested the platform could host annual student self-assessments tied to the profile. "The state is going to a statewide high school and beyond platform called School Links ... It will be fully implemented by 25–26," one presenter said.

On defining and measuring success, the group proposed pairing traditional indicators (on-time graduation, attendance, ninth-grade on-track) with broader measures such as senior reflective capstones tied to the profile, teacher and self-evaluations, and positive recognition aligned to the profile. Board members and presenters discussed whether the senior project should be reframed as a capstone emphasizing student reflection—documenting growth against profile attributes—rather than only an outcome or product.

Staff accountability ideas included professional learning tied to the profile, exploring how profile items could inform performance conversations (noting bargaining requirements for any changes to evaluation systems), and developing differentiated supports for diverse student groups. Presenters emphasized piloting a few concrete deliverables in 2025–26 rather than attempting all changes at once.

No formal board action or vote occurred during the update. Presenters said next steps include prioritizing items for the 2025–26 school year, meeting again with staff and principals, and exploring School Links as a place to capture student reflection and longitudinal progress against the Profile of a Graduate.