Thank you to the following D57 Team Members for their leadership on the Portrait of a Graduate Committee:
Karl Anderson, Assistant Principal, Westbrook
John Bonadurer, English Language Arts Teacher, Lincoln
Mark Fijor, Director of Technology
Abbey Grabowski, Math Teacher, Lincoln
Shannon Moncayo, School Psychologist, Westbrook
Mandy Steegmueller, Special Education Teacher, Westbrook
Kim Stortz, Instruction and Technology Coach, Westbrook
Eric Larson, Principal, Lincoln
Katelyn Lorenz, Literacy Support Specialist, Lions Park
Rachel Murphy, Third Grade Teacher, Lions Park
Dan Ophus, Principal, Fairview
Kelly Soderholm, Instruction and Technology Coach, Fairview
Amanda Spenner, Fifth Grade Teacher, Fairview
Elizabeth Straczek, Project Lead the Way Teacher, Lincoln
Dr. Kristin Vonder Haar, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning
Aaron Wilkins, Director of Professional Learning
This talented committee is scheduled to meet regularly throughout the 2023-2024 school year to plan a range of learning activities for each skill. They will also collect and review feedback from these activities to create age-appropriate and commonly accepted definitions and descriptors that will be useful for students.
To kick things off in October, we'll be focusing on Empathy in classrooms – a topic we're all eager to explore together! Empathy is at the core of kindness, compassion, and inclusion, and the committee selected Empathy in acknowledgment of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. I encourage all D57 Parents and Guardians to learn more about ways to report bullying and resources by clicking this link.
Students will learn about the remaining skills of the Portrait of a Graduate during the following months:
In the spring, students will engage in self-reflection work that will inform our path moving forward over the next four years. Be on the lookout for updates and resources from your child's school. We are so thrilled to see this important work come to life.
In the spirit of education,
