What is actually the product of education?

Is it course completion rates?

High average GPA?

College admission?

Qualifying for ‘good jobs’ (however that’s defined)?

Deep down, we all know that it’s a little bit more than that.

Recently, 17 states and many other school districts have embraced the concept of the Portrait of a Graduate (POG).

This is a comprehensive framework developed by schools or districts that outlines the skills, knowledge, and attributes students should possess upon graduating high school. This concept has gained traction across the nation as a way to align education with the evolving needs of society and the workforce.

Many guests on the Engaging Leadership Show have shared how they have aligned their five- or three-year strategic plans with this vision, developing the POG in collaboration with families, their board, and the broader economic community.

This is great, because it does a better job of looking at Whole Child learning, and typically aims to equip students to graduate with these skills:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving

• Communication and collaboration abilities

• Creativity and innovation

• Social-emotional competencies

• Cultural awareness and global citizenship

• Self-directed learning and adaptability

This all sounds great. In practice though, it’s not so simple. Many guests on the show have shared some of their experience implementing this, and I’ve summarized their insights below.

You need ONE critical ingredient and 4 elements for your Portrait of a Graduate to succeed

We’ve interviewed over 50 district superintendents from over 9 states, and here’s a summary of what they’ve shared about making their POG strategy a success.

The critical ingredient: Alignment.

Alignment across your executive cabinet, across parent groups, unions and the community.

Many guests cited Michael Fullan and Joanne Quinn’s book, Coherence, as inspiration for their efforts. Personally, I’ve found their insights very consistent with strategic change management in the corporate sector, and with organizational psychology best practices.

Regardless of whether you follow Fullan and Quinn, it’ll be hard to escape the core thrust of their approach. Here are the 4 elements to pay attention to

1. Focusing Direction

Fullan and Quinn emphasize the importance of having a clear and shared purpose. From our superintendent interviews, we’ve learned that the Portrait of a Graduate can serve as this unifying vision. To get alignment, start by bringing together key stakeholders—parents, unions, the executive cabinet—to co-create this vision. As Fullan notes, the clearer the focus, the easier it is to align people and efforts around it.

Action step: Co-Create a Clear Vision from the Beginning

• Hold listening sessions with all stakeholders to develop shared goals for the Portrait of a Graduate.

• Group feedback into core competencies and align them with district priorities.

2. Cultivating a Collaborative Culture

According to Fullan and Quinn, fostering a collaborative culture is critical to coherence. Superintendents who’ve done this successfully make collaboration part of the planning process. In one district, the superintendent set up cross-functional working groups where union leaders, teachers, and administrators jointly developed the action plans for implementing the Portrait of a Graduate. This collective ownership helps sustain alignment across departments and stakeholder groups.

Action step: Build Collaborative Teams

• Create cross-functional teams to design implementation plans with input from unions, teachers, and administrators.

• Ensure every department sees their role in advancing the Portrait of a Graduate vision.

3. Deepening Learning

Fullan and Quinn stress that deep learning must go hand in hand with system improvement. Superintendents shared that providing targeted professional development is essential for staff to adapt to the Portrait of a Graduate. For instance, one superintendent worked with their union to co-design workshops focused on integrating social-emotional learning into academic instruction.

Fullan’s idea of creating learning experiences for all levels of the system directly ties into these development programs, enabling staff to implement the vision effectively.

Action step: Provide targeted Professional Development

• Partner with union reps (or staff representatives) to co-develop training that supports the Portrait of a Graduate goals.

• Focus on the specific skills and practices teachers need to integrate these goals into their classrooms.

4. Securing Accountability

Lastly, Fullan advocates for building accountability through transparency and feedback mechanisms. The superintendents we spoke with reinforced this, highlighting the use of regular feedback loops—like surveys or quarterly progress meetings—with parent groups, teachers, and unions. By showing progress against shared goals, and adjusting course when needed, districts build trust and maintain alignment over time.

Action step: Set up Regular Feedback Mechanisms

• Implement regular check-ins, pulse surveys, and progress reports with parents, staff, and unions.

• Adjust strategy as needed based on feedback, reinforcing accountability and transparency throughout the process.

Where does your program stand?

The reality is most of us reading this are already in the thick of implementing and adjusting our Portrait of a Graduate goals. Most of you already have done some of the above, if not all.

What, if anything, have you found to be the greatest challenge in creating alignment and making continued progress?

I’d love to hear from you. Hit reply with a short sentence describing the challenge, and I’ll dig into the interview bank we’ve built and share some perspective.

If it’s a common theme, I’d be up for researching it further and sharing more in an upcoming post.

Let me know!

Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can help you:

1. Recommend a Podcast Guest: Do you know a superstar superintendent? A lifelong learner leader? Get them the recognition they deserve and feature them on the podcast, and have them join a guest alumni of over 250+ other leaders.

   Nominate here (30 seconds)

2. Improving school culture with advanced analytics: If you would like to tap into 15 years of organizational psychology experience across multiple industries, and uncover some new ideas about growing your principals, supporting your certified and classified staff, and creating a culture of belonging within your district, here’s a whitepaper you can access (no need for email addresses).

3. Analytics for better reporting: If you’re already running staff and family surveys but are struggling with extracting value from the insights, or translating them into meaningful action that support your strategic objectives, I can recommend small tweaks that should help almost immediately without massive changes to your process. This would be a complimentary 30-min consultation session. Book some time here.