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Board reviews proposed "Profile of a Graduate" emphasizing literacy, problem solving and financial literacy
Summary
At a June board meeting, district presenter Scott McKenna introduced a one‑page "Profile of a Graduate" listing 10 core competencies — literacy, quantitative reasoning, problem solving, judgment, resilience, financial literacy, time management and communication — and outlined a plan for summer communication and year‑one benchmarking if the board adopts it.
Scott McKenna, the district presenter, laid out a one‑page "Profile of a Graduate" that identifies 10 foundational competencies the district proposes students should master before graduation. McKenna said the profile was developed from nearly 300 survey responses and multiple stakeholder sessions involving students, staff, parents and alumni and is intended to align with the district’s strategic plan.
"This is our one‑page summary, our visual that identifies the top 10 foundational skills, competencies, and subcompetencies that we believe our students should master," McKenna said during the presentation. He described literacy, quantitative reasoning, problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, responsibility and accountability, resilience, financial literacy, time management and communication as the core areas.
Board members asked how the profile would be implemented, benchmarked and reported. McKenna proposed integrating the profile into twice‑annual strategic plan reporting or as a standalone report; year‑one activities would include staff professional development, student reflection questions and family outreach "chunked" by competency. He said the district would publicly share the profile and begin a communication plan over the summer if the board adopts it.
Members pressed on sources and scholarly grounding for the framework; McKenna said the team referenced district examples from other New Jersey districts and adjusted the plan to local needs, and that the surveys and stakeholder meetings showed strong consensus around the selected competencies.
On practical items, the board discussed how topics such as financial literacy would be embedded across departments (for example, through math and business classes or standalone offerings) and how the district would avoid adding burdens to teachers. McKenna described the first‑year approach as a mix of classroom integration, targeted programming and outside partners where needed, with staff and student self‑assessments used as data to set priorities and action plans.
The presentation included an invitation for board questions and emphasized that adoption would trigger a communication plan and subsequent progress benchmarks; the board did not vote on adoption during the excerpted discussion. The district intends to use the profile to shape instruction and to share the approach with the seven sending districts as an articulation point.
The meeting record shows the district plans follow‑up steps: public communication over the summer, staff and student self‑assessment during the school year, and benchmarking to measure progress toward the stated competencies.
