Seen the new North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate initiative out of DPI this week?

Here’s a closer look at Truitt’s graphics.

Look who helped to create this.

Yep. Fresh off their work with the TeachNC initiative and that licensure / pay proposal.

The same person who wants to ram this through the General Assembly so that teachers can be “evaluated” by value added-measures to control salary…

… is the same person who is promoting a “statewide Portrait which identifies seven competencies that students should possess upon graduation from high school in order to thrive in a 21st century place of work – be it college, career, or military.”

So, how does one measure how well those competencies have been “possessed” by our graduates? EVAAS scores? Standardized tests? That’s what happens to measure the competency of teachers.

Interesting that Truitt talk about ADAPTABILITY when she is promoting a new licensure / pay proposal that refuses to “adapt” to what would really help the teacher pipeline: graduate degree pay, due process rights, and longevity pay for all teachers.

Interesting that Truitt talk about COLLABORATION when she has built a legacy on crafting policies and proposals without authentic teacher input? (Again look at the licensure / pay proposal).

Interesting that Truitt talk about COMMUNICATION when she refuses to even talk with the state’s largest teacher advocacy group and seems to only cater to a few wealthy special interest groups like the John Locke Foundation where she just plucked her new hire as a senior DPI advisor.

Interesting that she talk about CRITICAL THINKING in a state where many of her political allies are attacking curriculum that might even present a non-flattering side of society to allow students to even become critical thinkers.

Interesting that Truitt talk about EMPATHY in a state that offers the lowest minimum wage federally allowed, the worst unemployment benefits in the nation, refuses to expand Medicaid, and will not even bother to honor the LEANDRO decision.

Interesting that Truitt talk about the LEARNER’S MINDSET and “embracing curiosity” in a state where people in her political party are actively challenging books and accusing teachers of indoctrination.

And interesting that Truitt talk about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY when she as the state superintendent is charged with the responsibility of ensuring a quality education for all our students which includes securing the monies and resources to make sure public schools can do that.

Seems as if what is valued in our graduates are qualities that could never be measured by a test or a score.