How 'Portrait of a Graduate' Is Spurring Innovation in Springfield Schools

Last spring, a group of elementary school students at Mary M. Walsh Elementary School in Springfield, Massachusetts, excitedly showed their families and other community members the results of the endangered species project they had been working on all year. They had not only learned about the animal they researched, but emerged with improved communication skills [...]

Episode 1 - Project-based Learning - what it is and what it means for students and teachers. 

Episode 2 - Financial Literacy - how important is it and how the community drove an initiative that introduced Financial Literacy courses into every high school beginning in the 2022-23 school year. 

Episode 3 - Special Edition -Welcome to a Special Edition of the Portrait of a Graduate Podcast. This episode features our writing winners for the POG Art and Writing Contest held last Spring. Our winners honored us by reading their winning pieces of work for us. Please enjoy this special episode

Episode 4 - Student Driven Initiatives and Transformational Learning - This episode explores that question, which features two veteran SPS teachers who are making it happen in their classrooms

Episode 5 - In this episode we explore the definition of "Joyful Learning" from the different perspectives of those involved in the classroom. We hear from students and staff about what that term means to them, and learn of real life examples of it at work. 

Episode 6 - A direct result of Portrait of a Graduate conversations with families, staff, community, and students, Financial Literacy classes are now in full swing for many high school students. In the January episode of POG - The Podcast, we catch up with a couple of students to find out what they are learning and how it is impacting them and their families. 

Episode 7 - The latest edition of "POG the Podcast" features a conversation about the importance of  student/educator relationships, with a focus on what the primary person model looks and feels like in schools. Listen in as Principals Coburn and Harris talk about their approaches to this important element of a school's culture and climate alongside a couple of students from each school. 

Episode 8 - This month's episode of POG the Podcast focuses on the district's efforts to drive the POG initiative based on best practices. Learn some of the lessons and experiences brought back home from a recent trip to a high-functioning POG district in California, made by a group of SPS representatives, including two students. 

The final episode of POG-The Podcast for the 2022-2023 brings a breath of fresh air as Springfield Public Day High School senior Je'Vonte West hosts the show. Je'Vonte was a guest on our Joyful Learning episode, where he told us how an assignment at school sparked an interest in journalism. Preparing for and executing this episode as a guest host and interviewer provided him another opportunity to work as a journalist does. He does a superb job!

Portrait of a Graduate is on The Community's Choice and BOMBA