Board approves exploratory phase to craft a district 'Portrait of a Graduate'

The Salt Lake City School District Board voted on Jan. 20 to start phase 1 of a "Portrait of a Graduate" initiative intended to clarify district expectations for graduates beyond test scores.

Associate Superintendent Doctor Ruiz told the board the Portrait would define academic knowledge, durable skills and dispositions (for example, problem solving, civic readiness and collaboration) and would be developed with stakeholder input. Ruiz said the effort is meant to "unpack" and clarify language already present in the strategic plan so that teachers, families and students can have a shared, concise statement of graduate outcomes.

Board members debated cost and scope. Some members said they would prefer to see a budget estimate before moving further; others said the initial exploratory phase—limited to staff time and stakeholder engagement—posed minimal cost and was worth pursuing. Board member Annie Romano framed the motion as approval to "start this process up until we have to spend money," asking staff to create a simple outline and bring back an implementation cost estimate.

A motion to approve the initiation of the Portrait of a Graduate development (phase 1: exploratory stakeholder input) passed on roll call after debate. Several board members who had earlier voiced concerns about costs or clarity voted yes to authorize the exploratory work; one member had voted no on an earlier related procedural motion but the final phase‑1 approval passed with board support.

Administrators said the exploratory phase will include teachers, board members and community input, and that any later professional development or curriculum embedding would include cost estimates for the board to consider.