Guiding Graduates to Greatness
MAKING A PLAN – Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School Counselor Ericka Hamilton helps 9th grader Camryn Allen with a venn diagram of skills she might need in achieving her future dream job once she graduates.
by ARIEL McRAE | Associate Editor
amcrae@hchronicle.net
Humboldt City Schools recently held a seminar for 5th through 12th grade students to get their input on what a Portrait of a Viking Graduate should look like. This seminar went over spectacularly and now HCS has a plan of action on how to graduate each Viking to the best of their ability from pre-k all the way through 12th grade.
Portrait of a Viking is based off of the portrait of a graduate model. A portrait of a graduate represents a school district’s vision for the 21st century skills, character traits and social-emotional competencies that students need to succeed in college, career and life. Humboldt City Schools Superintendent Dr. Janice Epperson said there are five key things to know about the Humboldt City Schools version of the portrait of a graduate. The first is that the Portrait of a Viking Graduate is a set of skills and knowledge necessary for all students to graduate. Another important component to know about the Portrait of a Viking Graduate is that is was designed by a committee of students, educators, parents and community members. This allows the information to be unique to Humboldt City Schools. It also describes the outcomes expected for all graduates and is being explored as a way to ensure that school provides all students with opportunities to reach their fullest potential.
There are core values to being a Viking. Viking is an acronym for visionary, innovative, knowledgeable, inspiring, noble, graduate and scholar for life. It is these traits that make up a student within the Humboldt City School system. With these character traits, it is believed that any Viking student will have the ability to reach graduation. Dr. Epperson told the students at the seminar that through graduation, Viking students could go anywhere they wanted to go.
“A diploma is a passport to success,” Dr. Epperson explained to the room full of Humboldt Jr./Sr. High students.
There are pillars of a portrait of a Viking that each graduate will need when they walk across that line and receive their high school degree. Those skills and pillars are being a mindful learner, inspired innovator, global citizen, skillful collaborator, effective communicator and a solution seeker.
A mindful learner is someone who recognizes their own behavior and knows they can use that to influence their goals. They make constructive choices. They self reflect and are responsible for their actions. They prioritize awareness of themselves and others around them, especially their mental health. During the event, Dr. Epperson used the singer Lizzo as an example of someone who is a mindful learner as she has used these skills to drive herself toward a net worth of $40,000,000. In using pop culture icons within the presentation, Dr. Epperson showed the students all the potential they have in using the Portrait of a Viking model to become whatever they put their minds to in the future.
An inspired innovator is someone that can adapt to various roles and circumstances. They learn from failure and can work independently and receive constructive criticism. They use problem-solving skills to navigate different situations and motivate themselves to reach their highest potential.
A global citizen is someone that can create different conversations with different people in order to learn about different cultures and backgrounds. They educate themselves on current and past global issues to stay relevant. They value people and environments different than their own. They can develop positive relationships with others different from themselves, and they can help advocate for those in need once they listen to a need that needs to be met.
A skillful collaborator reflects on other people’s input and will compromise to reach a goal. They will hold themselves accountable and remain positive when life throws them hard challenges. They will lead, support and empower people to be confident in themselves.
An effective communicator can keep an open mind while other people share their ideas. They can alter information to better suit the audience listening to their speech. They can form new opinions and utilize different platforms to express their opinions. They can listen to others and their ideas.
A solution seeker can analyze situations in order to identify any problem thrown their way. They can learn from past experiences on how to do better in the future. They can seek help for their problems and evaluate all the solutions in order to pick the right one. They can solve problems with knowledge they have learned from school and others around them.
These five pillars are what will bring the Portrait of a Viking Graduate to life. It allows students the ability to think outside of the box and gives them the opportunity to compete with other graduates from different schools. When it is time to step across the stage, the Viking graduate should possess all of the skills within the pillars to make them a fully rounded, well-educated individual ready to take on the adult world.
“It is bigger than Humboldt. It is bigger than Gibson County. It is a Portrait of a Graduate because we are trying to send out students that are future ready,” Dr. Epperson expressed. “The way we do that is figure out how to get them to embrace life long learning because it never stops.”
The next event on the Portrait of a Viking Graduate timeline is a community event on November 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Humboldt Medical Center. This will introduce this plan to those around Humboldt so they can see how the students are being taught to achieve much more than just their diploma.
