Portrait of a Graduate: Community Overview and Invitation
The New York State Education Department has introduced a new vision called the Portrait of a Graduate, which defines the skills, knowledge, and characteristics students should develop by the time they graduate high school. This statewide initiative serves as a guiding framework to ensure students are prepared not only academically, but also as critical thinkers, effective communicators, creative problem solvers, and responsible global citizens.
In the Commissioner’s recent video, she emphasizes that the Portrait of a Graduate is a blueprint for preparing students for success in college, careers, and life. It reflects a shift toward developing the whole child and ensuring graduates are future-ready in an ever-changing world.
As part of this important work, we will be developing our own local Portrait of an “SLC Graduate: Live Like a Larrie” to reflect the values, priorities, and goals of our school community. We invite parents, staff, students, and community members to partner with us in this process. Your voice will help define the skills and qualities we believe every graduate of our school should possess. We are seeking any community member with an interest in helping to have these important discussions about what education looks like at St. Lawrence Central Schools from Pre-Kindergarten through graduation.
Together, we can ensure our graduates are fully prepared for success and empowered to make meaningful contributions to their future and our community. For more information from NYSED, please see this link. Please utilize this link to see our February BOE update to understand what has been shared at school to date.
If you would like to be involved in the planning process, we invite you to fill out this short Google Form. If you have any questions regarding participating in this process, please reach out to Mrs. Zender, HS Principal, for questions or more information. Mrs. Zender may be reached via telephone at (315)389-5131 or via email at kzender@bfcsd.org.
From The Capital District Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Center: Positive Solutions for Families!
Are you concerned about managing your child’s challenging behavior but you're out of ideas or solutions? This training is for you! Developed by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL), Positive Solutions for Families is an evidence-based, user-friendly parent training series of seven modules to help parents promote positive and effective parenting behaviors. Each session helps family members understand and promote children’s social and emotional development and address the challenging behavior and mental health needs of children who are developmentally ages 3 through 8.
This is a free 7-week training for Parents and Caregivers. All sessions are from 9:00am-10:30AM on Zoom. By registering for this training, you are registering to attend all 7 sessions.
Sessions will be held on 7 consecutive Mondays:
4/13/26: Session 1 - Making the Connection
4/20/26: Session 2 - Keeping It Positive
4/27/26: Session 3 - Behavior Has Meaning
5/4/26: Session 4 - The Power of Routines
5/11/26: Session 5 - Teach Me What to Do!
5/18/26: Session 6 - Responding With Purpose
6/1/26: Session 7 - Putting It All Together With a Plan
Once you register, they will reach out and let you know your spot is secured. If the session is full by the time you register, you will be placed on a waitlist. You may be invited to attend if a confirmed participant does not finalize their attendance before the session.
Click here to register!
Please note that there is no cost to attend the training, but registration is required. Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link 2-3 days prior to the respective event.
For questions about a training or, if you need assistance with registration, please contact Cecily Honness at chonness@measinc.com.
Click on the link to read the February Bird's Eye View District Newsletter to stay up to date on key dates, announcements, and celebrations happening across our schools: https://app.smore.com/n/z0bkn