Portrait of a Graduate

Helping students succeed beyond the classroom.

Think about the opportunities and challenges you encounter each day and the skills you use to navigate them. In Virginia, the Profile of a Virginia Graduate encompasses the knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes that students must develop to succeed in life and be “future ready.” In FCPS, we actualize this through our Portrait of a Graduate (POG).

The FCPS Portrait of a Graduate includes skills that comprise five important attributes:

  • Communicator
  • Collaborator
  • Ethical & Global Citizen
  • Creative & Critical Thinker
  • Goal-Directed & Resilient Individual

FCPS students learn about, use, and reflect on their growth in these areas, taking ownership over their success today, tomorrow, and in the future.

Each of the five attributes includes related skills that become more complex as students get older; students at IB schools learn the language of the Learner Profile and Approaches to Learning skills. Student success in these skills is measured in the FCPS Strategic Plan within Goal 3-Academic Growth and Excellence and Goal 5-Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation.

How will students build Portrait of a Graduate skills at school?

  • By learning about the skills, including what they look and sound like, and why they are important within and beyond school  
  • By applying the skills as they learn course content in their daily lessons
  • By reflecting on how they have grown, next steps they can take, and why the skills matter to them now and in the future

When might students use these skills outside of school and in the future?

  • At home interacting with family and caregivers
  • Within friendships and acquaintances
  • In extracurricular activities, such as music ensembles, sports teams, performing arts, jobs and internships, scouts, volunteering, community or faith-based service, etc.
  • As contributing members in post-secondary education opportunities, future careers, and everyday adult life.

Portrait of a Graduate Presentations of Learning (POG POL)

Presentations of Learning give every learner multiple opportunities to demonstrate growth toward grade-level expectations for Portrait of a Graduate outcomes.

Collaborator

As students grow as collaborators, they can successfully work with their classmates, teachers, family and community members now and in the future.

Communicator

As students grow as communicators, they can respectfully listen to and share their thoughts, feelings, ideas, experiences, and perspectives with others.

Creative and Critical Thinker

As students grow as creative and critical thinkers, they can create new solutions to challenges that arise in their life and innovator for tomorrow's future.

Ethical and Global Citizen

As students grow as ethical and global citizens, they can act responsibly, recognize and appreciate the similarities and differences among people and their cultures, and care for their community and environment.

Goal Directed and Resilient Individual

As students grow as goal-directed and resilient individuals, they have skills to successfully address challenges that they will encounter throughout their lifetime.

Portrait of a Graduate in Action

See Portrait of a Graduate in action on X