New York Inspires · An All-Star Webinar Series

New York wrote the plan.
This is how districts deliver it.

A practical series for New York district and BOCES leaders turning the Portrait of a Graduate into everyday practice.

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Free to attend Four sessions · attend any or all Built for district & BOCES leaders

David Ross, former Buck Institute Senior Director and P21 CEO — David RossArchitect of the Belt Framework

Angela Di Michele Lalor, ASCD author and curriculum designer — Angela Di Michele Lalor

Dr. Sawsan Jaber, co-author of Pedagogies of Voice — Dr. Sawsan Jaber

Dr. Kate Anderson Foley, former state education leader — Dr. Kate Anderson Foley

Lisa Weber, New York district curriculum director — Lisa Weber

Tim Needles, 2025 New York State Art Educator of the Year — Tim Needles

Rhonda Hill, former PBLWorks Senior Director — Rhonda Hill

Every session expert is a paid Curriculum Genie consultant. Headshots used with consent.

The bench

Meet the New York Inspires All-Stars

One challenge cannot be solved by one perspective. This series brings together practitioners in leadership, curriculum, assessment, professional learning, student agency and implementation — people who have done the work in real schools.

Opens the series

David Ross

Leadership & the Belt Framework

Former Buck Institute Senior Director and P21 CEO; architect of the Belt Framework. He opens the series on where districts start on the road to 2027.

View session 01

Angela Di Michele Lalor

Curriculum design

ASCD author of Ensuring High-Quality Curriculum, with 25+ years in curriculum design. She leads the move from the Portrait on the wall to everyday practice.

View session 02

Dr. Sawsan Jaber

Educator capacity

Co-author of Pedagogies of Voice and creator of the Human-Centered Pedagogy Framework. She builds teacher capacity without adding evaluation pressure.

View session 03

Dr. Kate Anderson Foley

Leadership readiness

Former state education leader and organizational-change strategist. She helps leaders answer the board on culture, compliance and proof.

View session 04

Lisa Weber

Performance-based assessment

Current New York district curriculum director and former Assistant Superintendent, focused on performance-based assessment and instructional coaching.

Also on the bench

Tim Needles

2025 New York State Art Educator of the Year and author of STEAM Power, bringing creativity and student agency across the curriculum.

Rhonda Hill

Former PBLWorks Senior Director who has supported 25+ districts moving toward authentic, performance-based practice.

Every session expert is a paid Curriculum Genie consultant. Headshots are used with consent. Session assignments are being finalised and may change.

The series

A practical path from the Portrait on the wall to everyday practice.

This is one connected series, not a collection of unrelated webinars. Each session takes on a different implementation challenge on the road toward New York Inspires — and each one is built to be useful on its own.

Vision Practice Capacity Leadership

01
Vision · the roadmap

Preparing for New York Inspires: The Road to 2027

Date to be announced David Ross

Districts have the Portrait of a Graduate but no roadmap for delivering it.
- A clear read on the state roadmap and what this phase actually asks of districts
- The first practical moves a district can make this year
- A way to judge where your district genuinely stands today
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02
Practice · poster to practice

From Poster to Practice: the Gradual Transition Model

Date to be announced Angela Di Michele Lalor

The Portrait is adopted and visible — but it has not reached Monday’s lesson.
- How to embed Portrait competencies in units teachers already teach
- A gradual model that does not require replacing your curriculum
- Which practice to change first, and how to tell it is working
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03
Capacity · educator practice

Building Teacher Capacity: the Belt System

Date to be announced Dr. Sawsan Jaber

Teachers are asked to assess durable, real-world skills without training or shared rubrics.
- A non-evaluative White→Yellow→Green→Black pathway that teachers progress through
- How calibration stays professional learning rather than evaluation
- What instructional leaders convene — and what stays with teachers
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04
Leadership · the board story

Leadership Readiness: Culture, Compliance & the Board Story

Date to be announced Dr. Kate Anderson Foley

Leaders need evidence a board — and the state — will accept.
- How to answer the board on culture, compliance and cost
- What evidence shows practice is genuinely changing
- Where New York Ed Law §2-d fits into the conversation
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Dates, times and registration are being finalised. Add your name and we will send each session as it opens — attend any or all.

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Why NY Inspires matters

From State Vision to District Implementation

New York has defined a Portrait of a Graduate and is moving toward a system that gives students more meaningful ways to demonstrate what they know and can do. The challenge for districts is turning that vision into coherent leadership, curriculum, assessment and educator practice.

Vision

Align leaders around what graduate readiness should look like — and what it will ask of the system.

Practice

Build educator capacity and embed Portrait competencies into existing curriculum and meaningful performance-based learning.

Proof

Create authentic evidence of student learning and a clearer view of progress over time.

What districts need to build

Leadership Alignment

A shared definition of readiness, and a cabinet that can carry it to the board.

Educator Capacity

Teachers supported to design and assess durable skills, without added evaluation pressure.

Curriculum + Performance-Based Assessment

Portrait competencies embedded in units already in use, assessed through authentic tasks.

Meaningful Evidence of Learning

Authentic student work that shows growth over time, readable by teachers and leaders alike.

NY Inspires is a New York State initiative. Curriculum Genie is one implementation approach districts can use to deliver on it. Curriculum Genie is recommended by educators — it is not endorsed, approved or sanctioned by NYSED or the State.

Go deeper than a webinar can

The complete implementation pathway — leadership, educator capacity, curriculum, performance-based assessment and evidence, connected end to end.

Explore the full Portrait → Practice → Proof framework Explore NY Inspires at NYSED (opens in a new tab)

From Portrait to practice

Make the Portrait part of the learning — not another initiative beside it.

Start with curriculum teachers already use. Intentionally connect academic standards, Portrait competencies, meaningful performance tasks, student evidence and educator judgment inside the learning experience.

Educator review is the decision point — nothing moves to growth and readiness without it.

Embed PoG in existing curriculum

Teachers start with a unit they already teach and intentionally identify where students can practise Portrait competencies inside standards-aligned learning.

Critical thinkingEffective communicationGlobal citizenship

The competency work may already be happening. This makes it intentional and visible.

Design authentic performance tasks

Connect academic standards and Portrait competencies through performance-based learning experiences — from lightweight classroom practice through to deeper unit-level performance assessments.

Mini Masteries Unit performance assessments Shared rubrics

Capture meaningful student evidence

Students demonstrate learning in whichever format genuinely fits the task, so the evidence reads as learning rather than data entry.

Written work Images Audio Projects Presentations

Educator judgment → growth insight

Teachers review the evidence and finalise the result. That judgment is what connects a single piece of student work to a longer view of academic and Portrait competency growth.

Teachers review and finalise every result Agentic AI assists the review — it does not decide

See the complete NY Inspires implementation model See how PoG becomes part of curriculum

From New York educators

Teaching can feel isolating. This acts like a co-teacher.

Master Teacher, Special Education Questar III BOCES

“Curriculum Genie helped us brainstorm ideas and generate a rubric we could modify to fit our performance task.”

William Cullen Bryant High School

Dates being finalised

Be first to know when each session opens

Four sessions, one connected path. Add your name and we will send each session as registration opens — attend any or all.

Talk with our New York team Watch on-demand sessions

This is a promotional webinar series. Sessions are led by paid Curriculum Genie consultants.

Resource hub

Continue Your NY Inspires Journey

Explore practical implementation guidance, New York State resources, webinar learning and examples you can bring back to your district team.

Curriculum Genie resources

NYSED Official New York State resources

These links are provided for reference. Curriculum Genie is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the New York State Education Department.