Board receives character‑development monitoring report; staff proposes alignment with Portrait of a Graduate

District staff presented the Ends 1.2 monitoring report on character development and gave the board a school‑by‑school summary of programs and student examples that demonstrate the district’s character goals.

Assistant staff member Tacy (Daisy Killen referenced) told the board that schools use a range of programs — classroom morning meetings, RULER in elementary schools, Capturing Kids' Hearts, IB learner profiles at IB schools, PBIS and other locally chosen tools — to teach character traits the board has listed in its ends statement. The report collected 36 concrete examples of students demonstrating character in action, including mentorship programs, food drives and cross‑grade supports for students with significant needs.

Staff noted the district did not administer the climate/character survey this year; instead the district ran a student experience survey with Hanover Research and will add character‑related questions to develop baseline data for next year. The presentation recommended the board consider a future retreat discussion to align the board’s Ends character statements with the district Portrait of a Graduate work and to create a crosswalk between programs (PBIS, RULER, Capturing Kids' Hearts, IB) and the board’s character traits so measurement and reporting can be clearer.

Why it matters: The ends statement commits the district to graduating students with specified character traits. Board members and staff said clearer alignment and measurable benchmarks would help the district track progress and identify students who lack opportunities to develop these traits.

Ending: Board members discussed the need for clear definitions, classroom examples, and ways to measure extracurricular participation that demonstrates character. Staff said they will bring back proposed alignment steps for board consideration at an upcoming retreat.