Learning Model: Educator and Leader Portrait

How: Learning Model

Getting Smart Resources

Portrait Model

The Portrait Model from Getting Smart is a framework resource that guides schools and districts in developing “portraits of a graduate” or “portraits of a learner”—articulate, community-driven documents that define the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students should develop across their educational experience. The resource helps education leaders move beyond standardized test scores as the singular measure of success, instead anchoring curriculum, instruction, and assessment to a broader, locally defined vision of what graduates should know, do, and be. It offers practical guidance on the process of co-creating these portraits with community stakeholders, ensuring that school priorities reflect the values and aspirations of the families and communities they serve. For practitioners leading transformation efforts, this resource matters because a well-developed portrait serves as a north star for systemic change—aligning professional learning, school culture, and instructional design around a shared, forward-looking definition of student success.

Portrait of an Educator Gallery

The Portrait of an Educator Gallery, developed by Getting Smart, is a curated collection of educator profiles that highlight innovative practitioners who are reimagining teaching and learning across diverse contexts. The resource offers school leaders and practitioners concrete examples of what transformative educator practice looks like in action, showcasing the mindsets, skills, and approaches that define effective teaching in innovative learning environments. By making these portraits publicly accessible, the gallery functions as both an inspiration tool and a practical reference point for schools working to articulate, recruit, or develop the kind of educator identity needed to drive meaningful change. For leaders engaged in redesigning their schools or professional development systems, the gallery provides real-world models that ground abstract ideals in human stories, making the case for what educator growth and transformation can look like at the individual level.

Charting a Course for Educational Transformation: The Power of Aligned Portraits

Charting a Course for Educational Transformation: The Power of Aligned Portraits, published by Getting Smart, examines how learner portraits—articulated visions of what students should know, do, and be—can serve as a foundational alignment tool for systemic school change. The resource guides practitioners and school leaders through the process of developing and operationalizing these portraits so that curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and culture all point toward the same north star for student outcomes. It offers practical framing for why misalignment between stated values and actual school structures undermines transformation efforts, and how a well-crafted learner portrait can close that gap. For educators pursuing deeper innovation, this resource matters because it shifts the conversation from isolated program initiatives to coherent, whole-system design grounded in a clear and shared vision of the whole child.

Podcast: Rebecca Wolfe and Ryan MacDonald on Educator Competencies

This Getting Smart podcast features Rebecca Wolfe and Ryan MacDonald in a conversation focused on educator competencies and what effective teaching and leadership look like in modern learning environments. The episode explores the competencies, mindsets, and skills that educators and school leaders need to thrive in innovative, student-centered schools, connecting directly to the concept of educator and leader portraits as models for professional growth. For practitioners and school leaders pursuing education transformation, this resource offers concrete framing around what to look for, develop, and cultivate in staff — making it directly useful for hiring, coaching, professional development design, and school culture-building. It matters because shifting toward innovative learning models requires not just new instructional strategies but a redefined understanding of what excellent educators actually do and believe, and this podcast helps leaders articulate and operationalize that vision.

Portrait of a Leader: For Educators, By Educators

KnowledgeWorks
KnowledgeWorks’ *Portrait of a Leader: For Educators, By Educators* is a practitioner-developed framework that defines the competencies, dispositions, and mindsets educators and school leaders need to drive meaningful learning transformation. Built from the ground up with educator input, the resource moves beyond traditional administrator evaluation checklists to articulate what effective, forward-thinking leadership actually looks like in practice. It offers schools and systems a concrete reference point for hiring, professional development, coaching, and self-reflection aligned to innovation-focused education. For practitioners and leaders navigating systemic change, this portrait provides shared language and a coherent vision of leadership that centers learner outcomes and equity rather than compliance or bureaucratic performance metrics.

Lindsey Unified School District Look-For’s

Lindsey Unified School District (CA)
The Lindsey Unified School District Look-For’s is a practical observational framework developed by Lindsey Unified School District in California that defines what effective student and educator practice should look like in action across classrooms and schools. The resource outlines specific, observable indicators aligned to the district’s Learner and Leader Portrait models, giving administrators and instructional coaches concrete criteria for identifying whether the district’s vision for learning is actually being realized in practice. Rather than relying on abstract goals, it translates portrait competencies—such as agency, collaboration, and critical thinking—into tangible, visible behaviors that can be documented during walkthroughs and classroom visits. For school leaders pursuing systemic transformation, this tool bridges the gap between aspirational frameworks and daily instructional reality, making it easier to align professional development, coaching conversations, and school culture to a coherent, student-centered vision.

Glenbard Township High School Profile of an Educator

Glenbard District 87 (IL)
The Glenbard Township High School Profile of an Educator is a competency framework developed by Glenbard District 87 in Illinois that defines the dispositions, skills, and mindsets expected of effective educators within their system. The resource articulates a shared vision of teaching excellence that goes beyond content delivery, emphasizing qualities such as professional growth, relationship-building, and adaptive practice. For school leaders pursuing learning innovation, it offers a concrete model for hiring, evaluation, coaching, and professional development that aligns educator behavior with broader institutional values and student-centered goals. It matters because districts attempting transformation often lack coherent, human-centered definitions of what good teaching looks like in practice, and this profile provides an actionable blueprint for building and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement among staff.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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Learning Model: Educator and Leader Portrait

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