Portrait of a Graduate - Resilient Individual - School Highlights

Portrait of a Graduate - Resilient Individual - School Highlights
March 29, 2023

As part of our Strategic Plan, PCSD schools have been implementing activities to enhance the Portrait of a Graduate characteristics we want all of our graduates to embody: Fearless Learner, Engaged Collaborator, Global Citizen, Innovative Problem Solver, Confident Communicator and Resilient Individual. All of these traits will be highlighted and celebrated during the second annual Portrait of a Graduate Week, May 15, 2023 - May 19, 2023.

As part of our efforts to teach the Portrait of a Graduate competencies, schools have implemented learning activities highlighting “Resilient Individual” from January 16, 2023 to February 24, 2023. From making a mountain in Art class and writing about a time they overcame something difficult in their life to presenting a self-created slideshow in front of peers, students throughout the district have been learning about resilience through adversity, including the benefits of service to the community through volunteerism. In addition, students have learned strategies to develop healthy characteristics that reinforce positive core values and foster resiliency such as: empathy, perseverance, grit, gratitude and responsibility. Schools have incorporated the promotion of resilience to empower our youth to persevere and reverse the harmful stigma of mental health by reframing the approach from mental health education to resiliency education.

Resilient Individual learning activities included student mini journals focused on goal setting, being prepared and building trust, writing Thank You notes and making cards for school faculty and staff, older students reading to younger students, participating in writing contests to reflect on what it means to adapt, to stay positive, to be persistent when setting goals, to be courageous and to take initiative for our future. Students even learned about resilience by studying famous resilient individuals, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in conjunction with Black History Month activities.

Pictures below highlight some of our schools, staff, and students engaged in these activities.

Palatka Junior Senior High School