Asheville City Schools starts strategic-planning sessions to craft local "portrait of a graduate"

Consultants working with Asheville City Schools presented the start of a districtwide strategic-planning process on Wednesday, asking the school board to help shape a local “portrait of a graduate” that will guide curriculum and district priorities.

The presentation, led by Julie Kankey of ConnectED, the National Center for College and Career, and facilitated by Dr. Mary Salander, framed the work as a move from measuring content knowledge toward defining the skills students must use with what they know. "The world simply no longer cares how much our kids know. What the world cares about is what they can do with what they know," Kankey told the board.

The board and consultants said the portrait of a graduate will complement state standards and testing by naming durable skills — such as communication, critical thinking and collaboration — that local employers and community leaders say matter. Kankey cited a Rand Corporation review noting that only a small share of state math test items measure higher-order thinking, and said many districts are adopting graduate profiles to emphasize skills that tests may not capture.

Consultants described Phase 0 as a historical inventory of district programs and community priorities and said the next steps are to gather wider input through modules for staff, students and families and to synthesize those responses into recommendations for the board. The consultants asked the board to consider what students should know and be able to do when they receive a diploma and to prioritize the district’s distinctive needs — for example, skills that would encourage graduates to stay and work in the Asheville area.

During a facilitated exercise, board members and attendees suggested competencies and learning experiences they want the portrait to include. Examples collected during the meeting included leadership and teamwork; communication across differences; financial literacy; adaptability and perseverance; civic knowledge; creativity and problem solving; and bilingual or multilingual skills. Consultants said the ideas will be compiled with district data and community feedback.

Consultants outlined a timeline: staff and community engagement in the coming weeks; compiled recommendations and a draft report returned to the board around April–May; and a May–July phase to map existing programs to the adopted vision ahead of a strategic plan and implementation plan developed over the summer.

Board members and staff said they value a local profile that aligns with community workforce needs and asked the consultants to ensure the final recommendations include measurable ways to show progress. The board did not take a final vote on policy at the session; consultants will return with a consolidated report and proposed language for the district’s strategic plan.

What’s next: district staff and consultants will gather broader input from teachers, families and students and deliver draft recommendations to the board around April–May; the board will consider adoption as part of its strategic planning timeline.