Westbrook High School Portrait of a Graduate

During the 2023-2024, the high school community focused on increasing alignment of advisory lessons to our PoG initiative and increasing frequency of classroom assignments and projects aligned to PoG to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their success in each priority PoG attribute.

WHS Advisory Program

The high school advisory program increased in frequency from twice per monthly to weekly.  This additional time in advisory lessons has provided more opportunities for students to engage in activities specifically designed to improve understanding and application of the Westbrook Portrait of a Graduate.  One lesson per month is dedicated to introducing the priority attribute of the month and subsequent mini-lessons are designed to support student learning of those PoG skills and attributes. 

To start off the PoG work this year, students engaged in an activity called “PoG Carousel Brainstorm Lesson” during which students discussed the meaning of each attribute.  In small groups, students charted actions they could take to demonstrate their understanding and success over time with each PoG attribute. A meaningful and powerful record was created that captured PoG  in their own words and voices. Follow lessons and connections to this initial work occurred throughout the year in advisory PoG lessons and in classrooms.

Classroom Practices Aligned to Westbrook of a Graduate

Each quarter, teachers choose a major assignment or assessment and score student work using the Westbrook Portrait of a Graduate rubric.  Students upload the assignment and completed rubrics to their portfolios.  They also complete a reflection that includes a description of the project, description of the skills and knowledge learned, how they would improve the assignment using feedback from peers and teachers, and how this connects to their future career pathways.