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New York State Portrait of a Graduate

The Portrait of a Graduate

The New York State Portrait of a Graduate is a statewide framework defining the skills, knowledge, and dispositions every student should be able to demonstrate by graduation — not just what's on a transcript, but who a student has become. It was formally adopted by the Board of Regents at their July 2025 meeting, after two years of Blue Ribbon Commission work and input from over 8,400 New Yorkers through public feedback platforms.

 

Why It Matters for Multilingual Learners

Attributes like “effective communicator” and “global citizen” map closely onto skills our Multilingual Learners already possess and are building through language acquisition and cross-cultural navigation. As districts begin aligning to the Portrait, L.I. RBERN can help translate these attributes into concrete, WIDA-aligned instructional practice for ENL and bilingual classrooms.

 

 

Evolution of the Portrait: Three Versions, One Vision

You may see slightly different lists of Portrait attributes depending on the source and date — all are accurate, from different stages of the same work:

The First Iteration of  the Framwork (Nov. 2023 Report)

The Blue Ribbon Commission envisioned every NY graduate as:

  • A Critical Thinker
  • An Innovative Problem Solver
  • A Global Citizen
  • Literate Across Content Areas
  • An Effective Communicator
  • Culturally Competent
  • Socially-Emotionally Competent

 

The First NY Inspires Presentation (Nov. 2024)

When NYSED first presented NY Inspires to the Board of Regents on November 4, 2024, the accompanying slide deck carried forward the Commission's same seven attributes essentially unchanged, and stated plainly: “All students must demonstrate proficiency in each component of the Portrait of a Graduate to earn a high school diploma.”

 

NYSED's Final Adopted Portrait (July 2025)

NYSED's officially adopted Portrait graphic centers Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education, surrounded by six core competencies — the graduate is ready to Learn, Grow, Create, Work, and Contribute:

  • Academically Prepared
  • Creative Innovator
  • Critical Thinker
  • Effective Communicator
  • Global Citizen
  • Reflective and Future-Focused

 

 

 

Timeline

Fall 2024–Summer 2025 

Planning Year: Board of Regents officially adopts the Portrait of a Graduate (July 2025).

Fall 2025–Summer 2027 

Phase 1: NYSED releases implementation guidance, rubrics, and reformatted learning standards.

Fall 2027–Summer 2029 

Phase 2: Districts receive new credit requirements and prepare for full implementation.

Fall 2029 onward 

Phase 3: Schools implement the new statewide transcript documenting proficiency.

 

What's Changing

  • Districts will eventually be expected to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment to the Portrait's attributes.
  • The Portrait connects to existing initiatives already familiar to NY educators, including Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-S), Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS-I), and Social-Emotional Learning.
  • Students will earn credit through diverse experiences such as internships, capstone projects, service learning, and CTE programs, and will demonstrate proficiency through multiple means, including portfolios and locally developed assessments.
  • Current graduation requirements remain in effect while districts prepare — this is a phase-in, not an overnight change.

 

L.I. RBERN & ESBOCES Resources

NYSED Need-to-Know one-pagers (linked from regional BOCES resource pages):