Portrait of a Graduate mapping session underway at ILMHS

MEREDITH — What does it truly mean to be ready for the world beyond high school — and how do we define it together?

Inter-Lakes Middle High School received numerous commendations from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges during its most recent Collaborative Conference. NEASC, the oldest accrediting agency in the United States and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, is a voluntary organization that serves over 2,000 public, independent, international, and career and technical schools. The primary aim of NEASC is to support schools in fostering continuous improvement, promoting high-quality educational practices, and ensuring equitable learning opportunities for all students. These commendations highlight ILMHS’s strong commitment to reflective practice, student-centered learning, and ongoing growth aligned with NEASC’s rigorous standards. The visiting team also identified a few key areas for development, one being the creation of a comprehensive Portrait of a Graduate.

This framework outlines the traits, attributes, and transferable skills students are expected to demonstrate by the time they graduate. It was important to Inter-Lakes that all stakeholder voices were heard and in particular, student voices and choices were echoed in the development of this guiding blueprint. The school currently instructs, assesses and reports on six personal competencies, but they worked to further evolve and develop these into a comprehensive Portrait of a Graduate to include the skills of: Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Collaboration, Time Management and Perseverance. Each category is supported by a robust set of detailed skills and descriptors. A visual representation of the Portrait of a Graduate is essential for illustrating the core components of this work. The high school graphics students, under the guidance of Art, Design, and Multimedia Teacher Pat Quinn, are currently working on drafts.

The Inter-Lakes School District invites all community members to the Annual Community Outreach meetings to hear school highlights and provide feedback on draft strategic plan materials:

• April 8 at Inter-Lakes Middle High School, 6-8 p.m.
• April 16 at Center Harbor Community Center, 6-8 p.m.
• April 22 at Sandwich Central School, 6-8 p.m.

For more information go to interlakes.org or contact ILMHS at 603-279-6162 for a copy of the Portrait of a Graduate.