What is a Portrait of a Learner?
A Portrait of a Learner organizes a school and its community around the essential skills, knowledge, and habits of mind that represent the community’s vision for learning and prepare students for the world beyond school. At Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD), our Portrait of a Learner invites the community to come together to define and support a shared vision for what we want to see in our learners for college, career, civic, and life success. This process is deeply rooted in community collaboration.
Key elements of the Portrait of a Learner include:
- Public: It is openly shared with the community.
- Memorable: It reflects core values that resonate with everyone.
- Blends Representation and Aspiration: It captures both current strengths and future goals.
- Actionable: It provides clear guidance for educational decisions and practices.
- Transdisciplinary: It transcends individual subjects and fosters holistic student development.
Why is this work important?
Western Placer Unified School District’s Portrait of a Learner is now a guiding document that helps our schools pursue ongoing growth and make decisions based on what our community prioritizes for students. It serves as a foundational framework for all future work in our schools, classrooms, and the wider community.
How is this different from work we’ve done before?
The Portrait of a Learner focuses on students and the types of learning and experiences we want to support and encourage at our schools and in our community. By involving stakeholders across the community, making the document public, and fostering ongoing conversation about its use, we are continually reflecting on and improving our work to align with our community’s aspirations.
How will this affect how educators do their jobs?
The Portrait of a Learner is designed to unite our community around the skills and mindsets that are crucial for students’ futures. While there is no strict agenda for how this Portrait must be used, it serves as a guiding principle to ensure that our decisions are always made with student learning as the primary focus.
