Skip To Main Content

The Adult Portrait

Why have an Adult Portrait?

Widespread successful achievement of the Graduate Portrait is only possible if a supportive and intentional community of adults work together. What attributes will the adults need to help students succeed? Based on broad community input and the design work of the Guiding Coalition, the eight elements described below are those deemed most critical in supporting students to achieve the Graduate Portrait.

This Adult Portrait applies to all adults working in the school district, not just teachers, because every adult’s work supports student success; therefore, the language here is broad. The district holds high expectations for all adults, and so these elements include deep expertise in, and continuous learning about, any adult’s area of expertise. Teachers are expected to have deep content knowledge and strong instructional skills; administrators are expected to be outstanding educational leaders and managers; support and operations staff are expected to provide excellent service in their areas of responsibility; and all adults are expected to engage in ongoing learning. The elements also include areas that prepare students for their futures, support their readiness to learn, and support a strong collaborative culture for the adults.

Many adults at SCUSD already embody some of these attributes, but the purpose of this part of the vision is to create an aligned culture and to support all adults in developing all of the attributes over the course of the vision timeline. This is a long-term vision. Developing and prioritizing the Adult Portrait will be part of SCUSD’s journey and its strategy for recruitment, professional learning, and staff development.

The ability of adults to model and continuously develop these attributes will be critical in helping students. They will also help adults support one another and create respectful and beneficial relationships with the community that further support students’ learning and skills building.

The following Adult Portrait elements have been developed through iterative cycles of input, feedback, and revision, as illustrated in the roadmap.

Graduate Portrait Elements

Adult Diagram

Adult Portrait Implications

Although district offices and state departments of education often have lists of competencies, or standards, for educators and administrators, these are not directly tied to a Graduate Portrait, nor do they apply to all adults working in the school district. The difference here is that our Adult Portrait has been created through the same collaborative vision process that we used to create the Graduate Portrait, and it is specifically designed to support that work. This makes it more targeted to this district and more holistic.

The Adult Portrait has major implications for the human resources lifecycle, labor relations, and the kinds of relevant and persistent professional learning that adults will need in order to embody the portrait.

Stories from the Future