How Schools Prepare Pupils for Life

When parents think about their child’s education, they often think about grades and academic progress. But just as important are the skills students develop along the way—how they think, solve problems and apply what they learn in real life.

That kind of learning can be seen in a high school environmental science class, where students are asked to investigate water quality in their local community. Instead of just memorizing facts about pollution, students collect water samples from nearby sources, analyze data, compare results to environmental standards, identify possible causes of pollution and propose evidence-based solutions.

Through experiences like this, students develop critical thinking skills as they evaluate real-world data, make connections and defend their conclusions in presentations to classmates or even local officials.

This approach to learning reflects a broader shift in education. We live in a far more complex world today than in years past As a result, success in school is now defined more broadly than just academic knowledge; it also involves skills that help students apply what they learn beyond the classroom.

This shift is why the Southwestern Union Office of Education is promoting Portrait of a Graduate competencies. The portrait defines skills, dispositions and mindsets that students need for academic success as well as for college, careers and life. These attributes include communicating, critical thinking and collaborating.

The office of education brought together a group of educators, community leaders and family representatives a few years ago to develop a Portrait of a Graduate for Adventist schools. In the process, a set of seven competencies was identified that matter for success in school as well as for life beyond the classroom.

It was critical that the competencies be clear to students, families and staff. They also had to be measurable so educators would be able to see, hear or assess them over time. Finally, the competencies needed to connect to authentic learning experiences.

These are the seven competencies that were chosen for Seventh-day Adventist schools in the Southwestern Union.

• Connection to God and others
• Citizenship
• Collaboration
• Critical thinking & problem solving
• Creativity and innovation
• Communication
• Character

When done well, a Portrait of a Graduate provides clarity for what success looks like, creates a shared language across schools and helps students see how different parts of learning—curriculum, instruction and assessment—fit together.

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