Facilitating “Portrait of a Graduate”: Evaluation in Use

 We at Inspire to Change are excited about our work with schools in North Central Massachusetts on their Portrait of a Graduate project. Portrait of a Graduate has the goal of reimagining high school to ensure that all high school graduates are given the tools they need to be successful in college, their careers, and the community. With funding through the Barr Foundation, Mount Wachusett Community College worked with Gardner, Fitchburg, Leominster, and Winchendon high schools in North Central MA for several years to draft their portrait. 

Inspire to Change assisted in collecting and facilitating the use of data from focus groups, surveys, and interviews of over 3,100 stakeholders, including students, teachers, business leaders, parents, guardians, alumni, and community residents. The data and the resulting conversation around it created a collective vision for what the Portrait of a Graduate should be, including a draft of a visual. The information is currently being presented back to school districts and community residents to create and implement their collective actions towards the vision co-created for, with, and by graduates.