Superintendent Dr. Gupta told the Oakwood Schools Board of Education on Oct. 13 that the district’s Portrait of a Learner initiative is moving forward after outreach to students, teachers and community members. The outreach included visits to every school building, sessions with students (about 15 per building and 50–60 high school students), teacher feedback sessions and community input coordinated with consultant Merlin Styles and community relations coordinator Wendy Barhorst.

Early feedback produced four core themes: competencies beyond academics; future-focused skills and adaptability (including lifelong learning and readiness for changes such as artificial intelligence); ownership of learning (self-regulation, responsibility, reflection and learning from failure); and a culture of compassion and connection emphasizing empathy and kindness. Dr. Gupta said the core team of about 50 members will meet four times to synthesize feedback and later share results for additional public input on the district website.

Dr. Gupta also announced Oakwood Schools received a five-star district rating on the state report card released in September, indicating the district exceeded state standards across measures such as achievement, gap closing, early literacy progress, graduation components and college/career/military readiness.

The superintendent recognized National Merit semifinalists and commended scholars from Oakwood High School by name and invited students to the front for photographs and certificates. He noted about 16,000 semifinalists are named nationally and roughly 1,300,000 students participated in the PSAT field; semifinalists must meet additional requirements to advance to finalist standing.

Dr. Gupta said the district will continue to post updates on the Portrait of a Learner process and thanked staff and community members for participation.