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Monroe-Woodbury staff explain NYSED'approved 'Portrait of a Graduate,' advise families to await state guidance
Summary
District staff briefed the board on the New York State Education Department'approved Portrait of a Graduate, explained the phased timeline and told families that other proposed changes (credit redefinitions, one diploma, phasing out Regents exams) require Board of Regents approval and are not yet in force.
District staff on Aug. 27 briefed the Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education on the New York State Education Department'approved Portrait of a Graduate and how the district plans to adapt the state guidance locally.
"Tonight, we're gonna be providing a quick update regarding the recently approved New York State Education Department portrait of a graduate," a district presenter said. Staff described a phased state timeline: a planning year in 2024'25, Phase 1 installation from 2025 to 2027, Phase 2 implementation in 2027'28, and full scaling after 2028. The state'level initiative is part of the New York INSPIRES set of transformations aimed at rethinking credits, assessments and the diploma structure.
District staff emphasized that other statewide proposals frequently discussed alongside the portrait ' such as redefining credits, adding financial-literacy or work'based learning requirements, sunsetting some assessment requirements, and moving to a single New York State diploma ' remain proposals and must be approved by the Board of Regents before they take effect. "It's important to note that none of the proposed changes are final until they are approved by the Board of Regents," the presenter said.
Staff told the board they have formed a student achievement task force within the district'level strategic planning process and will convene local task forces to translate the state descriptors into a Monroe-Woodbury version of the portrait once NYSED publishes implementation guidance. The district expects to publish its local Portrait of a Graduate by the end of the 2026'27 school year.
On questions from board members about families asking whether students must retake Regents exams, the presenter said those rules are not yet finalized and advised that, "They need to retake that exam because at this moment in time, those regulations have not been passed yet." Staff said they will share clarifying guidance with families through guidance departments and at open houses when state guidance is available.
What's next: Staff will convene the student achievement task force to align district attributes with forthcoming state guidance and provide communications to families once the state releases implementation documents.
