Indian Prairie School District 204 already has a Portrait of a Graduate. Now, the district is developing a Portrait of an Educator.
The portraits are words and images used to describe the ideals of what it means to be in a learning or teaching role. The Portrait of a Graduate has been on the books for more than five years, and administrators are now in the midst of a three-year process to develop a similar framework for teachers.
“Building on the success of our portrait of a graduate, our goal was to define what effective teaching and leadership looks like in District 204,” said Sharon Ruff, director of human resources.
Developing a Portrait
A committee of about 25 teachers, administrators and others began work in the fall with Battelle for Kids, a national nonprofit that supports districts as they create plans to make “every student future-ready.”
Carey Beth Harry, chief human resources officer, said Battelle for Kids presented the team with a list of nearly 70 attributes used to describe effective teachers, and the group narrowed it down to five. Harry called these chosen five the “essential qualities and competencies” District 204 seeks in its teachers.
The current Portrait of an Educator describes someone who is creative, adaptable, has perseverance, is a relationship-builder and is a critical thinker.
The qualities are a close match with those listed within the Portrait of a Graduate, also developed with the help of Battelle for Kids. The Portrait of a Graduate includes six core competencies: creativity and innovation, communication, critical thinking and problem solving, citizenship, flexibility and adaptability, and resilience.
“It’s natural that the competencies we want in our students would be reflected in our teachers,” Ruff said.
Future of the Portrait of an Educator
Work during the next couple years will help apply the Portrait of an Educator to the district’s teacher recruitment and retention, administrators said. Recruiters are already using questions based on the five competencies included in the portrait when interviewing potential candidates.
School board members said they look forward to current and future teachers using the qualities included in the Portrait of an Educator for self-assessment and growth. Members praised the qualities chosen and said they are excited to see the principles of creativity, adaptability, perseverance, relationship-building and critical thinking applied to future hiring and professional development of educators locally.
“If I had a teacher, this is what I would like to have valued in that teacher and the skills they would represent,” school board President Laurie Donahue said. “I do think you nailed it with those five (competencies), personally. Those are skills that I think we want to promote and value in our teachers and our staff.”
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