Members of the Triad community are working to build a vision for their district’s graduates.
During Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting, officials heard from the Portrait of a Graduate communication subcommittee.
The group, which includes Lee Claypool, elementary principal; Nora Gehres, high school math teacher; Vicki Flack, second grade teacher; and Jessica Gronas, middle school counselor, shared progress developing the Portrait of a Graduate.
Claypool said the portrait is a vision for Triad graduates, “representing positive qualities or assets that all stakeholders would like to see in our graduates.”
Superintendent Vickie Hoffman described the Portrait of a Graduate as a “building block” that will be used to help the district create its strategic plan and vision.
Committee members are currently working to compile a list of characteristics that will be included in the portrait.
So far, Gehres said the committee has emailed surveys to community members asking for “descriptors, assets and qualities that we would like to see in our graduates.”
They took 30 popular answers from the surveys and narrowed the options to about half of those.
The qualities include characteristics such as being responsible, a critical thinker, independent or accepting feedback. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Morgan Fagnani said the committee also added “financially literate” to the lot, as feedback from students included wanting to know how to file taxes, create a resume and apply for jobs.
Fagnani said the committee is eliciting feedback from as many people invested in the community as possible, including previous Triad graduates.
As part of an exercise to gather data, Fagnani gave each board member and person in attendance at the meeting a sheet of six circle stickers.
She explained that posters describing 15 different characteristics were hanging around the room. She asked everyone to place a sticker on the six posters that represented the qualities they valued most.
Moving forward, the committee said they will work to analyze and compile the data collected.
Claypool explained the Portrait of a Graduate team includes representatives from the elementary, middle and high school buildings, as well as Hoffman, Fagnani and Director of Special Education Michele Peters.
The team members are split into four subcommittees: community team, district and building communication team, survey and social media team and design team.
Since the team members span each building and work in different capacities, Claypool said it is important to consider each person’s perspective.
To connect the members and offer information from each grade level, she said the communication subcommittee will be creating and distributing a staff-only newsletter.
Aside from Portrait of a Graduate updates, Claypool said the newsletter will include more personal highlights such as congratulatory messages for weddings or births.
She said it will be a way for staff to “share our sorrows and multiply our triumphs.”
Hoffman said the Portrait of a Graduate will be rolled out at the beginning of next school year. She said each building will have its own plan to implement it.
In other business, the board:
– Heard an update from new Athletic Director Logan Dunn. He said he has met with each winter and spring sport’s head coach and is working on initiatives to involve the community in Triad athletics.
– Heard an update from Director of Operations Neil Laughbaum. He said one bus requires an engine overhaul, which would cost approximately $18,000.
He recommended the board instead purchase a new school bus. The board unanimously approved the purchase of a bus for $71,580, after the trade in of three buses for $15,800.
– Heard an update from Hoffman regarding planning for improvements from the recently approved levy.
She said civil engineering has already started and work is being done in regards to new safety and security measures.
– The board approved Choice One Engineering to prepare a concept plan, site design and storm water management design for the track and football athletic facilities at a cost of $28,500.