New York Inspired - Designing the Graduate of Tomorrow

New York's Portrait of a Graduate asks districts to develop collaborative contributors and effective communicators — but most schools already have the pieces. The gap isn't vision. It's implementation. This session gives curriculum directors, coaches, and building leaders a practical upgrade framework for mapping existing units, routines, and assessments to Portrait tenets — without rebuilding everything from scratch. Participants leave with a concrete crosswalk tool and at least one actionable next step they can bring back to their team on Monday.

The New York State Portrait of a Graduate names the kind of student we want to develop, but the gap between aspiration and daily classroom reality is where most districts get stuck. In this session, Tim Dawkins and Janeen Gannon share how South Glens Falls Central School District is using artificial intelligence as a practical instructional tool to make Portrait tenets like critical thinking, creative innovation, and effective communication concrete and visible in student work. Drawing on real classroom examples and district-level implementation, attendees will leave with immediately adaptable strategies and a clearer sense of how teachers can leverage AI tools to intentionally design and scaffold lessons that weave Portrait traits directly into the core curriculum.