Last spring, the CTE Foundation, in partnership with Sonoma County Office of Education, launched a community engagement process to help develop a common definition and success measures for what it means to truly be “college and career ready” for Sonoma County graduates.   Through this effort, a task force was formed to answer the question: What skills and characteristics does a K-12 graduate in Sonoma County need to demonstrate in order to successfully transition to the post K-12 world? 

We are fortunate to live in a forward-thinking county, where we enjoy the collaborative support and leadership among our education, business and community partners. To help address this question and with a focus on achieving college, career and life success for EVERY student, the Task Force has chosen a powerful approach called Portrait of a Graduate (POG).  This collaborative model, designed by Batelle for Kids, is transforming school districts nationwide by engaging the larger community in developing a collective vision that articulates the community’s aspirations for ALL students. During the next nine months the College and Career Ready Task Force, renamed POG Design Team, will be engaging with a broad representation of community stakeholders to answer the following:

• What are the hopes, aspirations, and dreams that our community has for our young people?
• What are the skills and habits of mind that our children need for success in this rapidly changing and complex world?
• What are the implications for the design of the learning experiences—and equitable access to those experiences—we provide in our school systems?

Several local high schools are already implementing around graduate profiles, providing a stated vision for what students should know and be able to do to succeed and prepare for “what’s next” after graduation.  With the input from local districts, the development of a Sonoma County Portrait of a Graduate through a community-wide approach, can serve as a North Star for local school in setting their own strategic direction in designing the overall educational experience for students. More importantly, this collective vision can reinvigorate and re-engage our students, teachers and community stakeholders.

We are seeking input and participation from business and community leaders for the design and development of the Sonoma County POG, if you are interested, please contact kgoodacre@ctesonomacounty.org