A core element of my work with schools in designing learning spaces has always centered on one essential question: What do you want the daily student experience to be? Surprisingly, very few schools have this articulated in any formal way. They often rely on mission and vision statements, lists of core values, and similar documents that describe broad aspirations. While these can be valuable, the real challenge is converting lofty declarations into a lived experience and into the rhythm and texture of everyday school life.
In recent years, many school systems have adopted a new tool for articulating their vision: the Portrait of a Graduate (POG). While these documents represent progress, I’m not convinced they deliver as much value as intended, and a good place to start thinking about this is with the name itself. A “portrait” suggests a fixed image, captured at a single moment in time: this is what you should be by the age of 18. That framing emphasizes what the school hopes to produce, rather than what the student might choose to become. It’s not inherently wrong, but it risks minimizing the importance of student agency, the idea that learners should help shape their own experiences and trajectories, rather than simply being shaped by institutional expectations. I also wonder if the portraits that I have seen were created through an inclusive design process involving stakeholders, especially students. In any case, the real challenge lies in the ongoing commitment: the sustained work of implementing, evaluating, and refining classroom practices so the Portrait becomes a lived reality for every teacher and every student, every day.
A somewhat stronger approach is to create a Portrait of a Learner. While it doesn’t eliminate all of the challenges I’ve already raised, it does shift the focus. Instead of defining what a student should be at the point of graduation, it emphasizes an ongoing identity -as a learner without an expiration date. This perspective honors learning across the timeline of a life, rather than a fixed endpoint at 18. A “graduate” signals a finish line; a “learner” suggests a lifelong timeline of experience. If you think that your POG can do the same thing, then perhaps shift your nomenclature to Learner.
Here’s my take. Instead of a Portrait, schools should consider developing a community-wide Promise. Doing so is a declaration of intent, a celebratory and shared commitment to students and families that outlines not only what the school aspires to achieve, but also what every stakeholder must pledge to uphold. Students, families, educators, and the broader community must each declare their promise to the education of children, creating an interconnected web of responsibility and support. I’m calling this an ecology of promise, where everyone holds a piece of the commitment to ensure that every child’s future is embraced and supported, and done so unconditionally.
My thinking here is influenced by an extraordinary social experiment known as The Kalamazoo Promise. Launched in 2005, it represents a bold, ongoing commitment to the young people of Kalamazoo Public Schools (MI). Under this program, every eligible graduate of the school district is guaranteed up to 100% of tuition and fees at more than 60 public and private colleges, universities, community colleges, and trade schools across Michigan. Funded by anonymous donors (names have never been released), it ensures that financial barriers do not prevent students from pursuing higher education. To date, over 8,700 students have benefited, going on to pursue diverse pathways that align with their aspirations. What makes the Promise remarkable is not just the scale of its investment, but the range of support it has generated: schools, families, and the broader Kalamazoo community rally around each scholar, reinforcing the shared belief that every child’s future is worth investing in.
So, what might a Promise actually look like in practice? I believe it rests on four essential cornerstones; here they are:
A Promise is Based on Collective Responsibility. Developing a Promise begins with the recognition that it must be rooted in a collective responsibility that is embraced equally by educators, families, students, and the entire community. The school promises to create environments where every learner is known, supported, and challenged to reach their full potential, while upholding a belief in the inherent brilliance and creativity that is present in each child. Families promise to partner with educators, reinforcing learning at home and nurturing their child’s growth, while believing in the potential of every student, not just their own. Students promise to be fully present and bring curiosity, effort, and respect to their own learning journey and that of their classmates. The community promises to contribute its resources, wisdom, and opportunities, ensuring that education is community-based rather than confined within the walls of the school, while recognizing the school as the heart of the community. Together, these declarations form the ecology of promise I previously mentioned, where the future of every child is guaranteed not by one group alone, but by the collective strength of all those who participate in the Promise.
A Promise is Co-Authored. Given that this is a collective effort, the Promise must be co-authored by the entire school community. As educators, we know that schools are always reflections of their community, so why not co-create together and ask all to commit to a shared responsibility? And unlike the static Portrait, the co-authoring process of the Promise should always be ongoing, and continually in progress as the landscape of education and the world changes. Meanwhile, the reflective and evaluative processes required to make the Promise a success, and the insights they generate, can be used to ensure that the Promise remains a living, dynamic, and relevant commitment (note that I didn’t say document).
A Promise is Guided by Touchstones: The challenge of any big-picture strategic effort, whether defining a school’s purpose or reimagining the experiences it offers, is translating that effort into the daily, lived experiences of students and educators. Too often, there is a wide gap between vision and classroom reality. A Promise helps close that gap by establishing touchstones, the essential elements that bridge commitments to action and ground them in everyday practice. Touchstones anchor, express, and activate the values of the Promise; they serve as guiding reference points that keep the school aligned to its commitments. These are short, memorable, and actionable statements that inform and guide the actions of all involved in the school. Here are some examples
Promise: “We believe in the human potential of every learner.”
Touchstone: “You will be known by name, by your story, and by your personal strengths and challenges.”
Promise: We commit to radical care, trust, and compassion in all relationships.
Touchstone: You will be surrounded by people who believe in you, even on your hardest days.
And while you are at it, why not be bold and create a magical vision…
Promise: We believe that imagination is a form of freedom.
Touchstone: You will be encouraged to dream out loud, to build what’s never been built, and to believe that your ideas can change everything.
It is the responsibility of the school, with assistance from the community where appropriate, to expect that touchstones become part of the school's culture and to make the necessary investment in personal growth, professional learning, and time so that touchstones and the teaching and learning strategies associated with them are fully realized in practice. If this isn't done, and if these resources are not provided, then a Promise becomes something on paper, something for a website, or a supergraphic in the double-loaded hallway corridor.
A Promise Reflects the Heart and Soul of the Community. The Promise must activate the imagination and joy that is present in learning. It must reflect the diversity and voices within the community. It must reflect the responsibility that the community has before it to invest in its children and their education. It must elevate the role that educators play in shaping the future. And most importantly, it must be unapologetic; it must reach into what makes us human beings, and it must be composed so that it reflects the remarkable opportunity that a community has to shape the future of children as well as its own.
So…
A Promise represents a bold and hope-filled approach for schools to vision its future, offering a clear declaration of what truly matters for the future of the children and young people they serve. It invites schools to do more than define student outcomes that are represented by a Portrait. It asks the school’s community to take a stand for what they believe in, to stand alongside their learners, and to stand in service of a future shaped through care and shared responsibility.
Creating a Promise requires inclusivity, bringing students, families, educators, and the broader community together to co-author a shared understanding. It calls for bravery to name what is just and necessary, even when doing so challenges tradition and current culture. And it asks for humility and a willingness to listen, to reflect, and to evolve so that the Promise remains a living commitment rather than a static set of statements. A Promise requires everyone, not just the school, to bring their best to the educational process.
And at its core, a Promise is built on the relationship between schools and their communities. It is sustained through shared participation and ownership, and it is fueled by an unshakable belief in the potential of every learner. It declares: we see you, we believe in you, and we will walk with you.
In a time when education often feels transactional and limited by sterile systems of measuring student growth and progress, a Promise can reclaim what is essential. It restores focus to the experience of being young, the timeless process of becoming, and the responsibility we each carry to help one another grow as humans.