The Great Neck Public Schools took steps towards establishing its portrait of a graduate, as Molloy University officials shared its seven recommendations with the board of education on Wednesday, June 4.
Molloy University officials, who worked with the district on this project, provided the final report on the district’s initiative to establish a portrait of a graduate – a framework for student achievement by the time they graduate from the school district.
“We are grateful for our partnership with your school and your community, and we hope that you find your portrait to be an authentic and aspirational representation of your community and that it serves you well now and into your future,” said Gina Florio, dean of Molloy’s School of Arts and Sciences.
Based on survey results, the top seven attributes for Great Neck’s portrait of a graduate are being critical thinkers and problem solvers, effective communicators and collaborators, adaptable lifelong learners, digitally and financially literate, emotionally intelligent and empathetic, confident and resilient, and ethically aware and responsible leaders.
“These skills… they’re checkpoints for competency,” said Elizabeth Mandracchia, events and communication coordinator for Molloy’s School of Arts and Sciences. “So you want your students to be able to hit all those checkpoints as they go forward.”
Work to establish this framework began last year through a partnership with Molloy University. Molloy officials initially presented on the topic at the district’s October board of education meeting.
The process unfolded over the school year, including thought exchanges with district community members to source ideas for the portrait. These included students and staff.
Phase one of the process was a survey open from December through January.
A total of 786 people participated in the survey, with 34% of participants being parents and both students and district staff each consisting of 30% of respondents.
This survey allowed individuals to express the skills, mindsets and traits that the community believes contribute to student success.
Phase two was another survey where participants could rank the qualities initially shared in the first survey.
This survey was open from March through May, and 1,084 people participated. Of participants, 49% were students, 43% were parents, and 8% were district staff.
The main qualities reported were communication skills, a positive attitude, honesty, integrity and adaptability. Mandracchia said these were the common grounds for survey participants.
Top skills reported were diverse, Mandracchia said, including problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, communication, collaboration and literacy.
Mandracchia said students reported time management as highly important, whereas district staff and parents expressed the importance of social skills.
Top mindsets reported included growth, positivity, goal-oriented and resilience. Mandracchia said students reported open-mindedness as a top mindset, staff reported compassion and parents said resilience.
Mandracchia said the top traits reported included self-esteem, confidence, and integrity. Students reported a high value of respect, while staff and parents ranked kindness higher.
Survey participants were also asked about important student abilities in 2037 and beyond, which would be the year the current kindergarten class graduates from high school. Mandracchia said a diversity of traits were reported, including academic skills, technical skills, especially with artificial intelligence, adaptability, resilience, empathy, respect and diversity.
Mandracchia said that while this is the final report, it’s not the end of the journey but rather the beginning. The school district’s next steps would be to implement the ideas of the portrait in its programming and curriculum.
In other news, Superintendent Kenneth Bossert said the district will continue its community outreach through another thought exchange. This time, it will focus on the newest state policy banning cell phones in schools and how the district should implement this.
Bossert said the district already has strict protocols regarding student cell phone usage in school, which he said will make it easier to implement this new policy.
“It will help us to make sure that the policy that we have in place for September is meeting of the needs of all while complying with this ban from the state,” Bossert said.
