NY Inspires

Make the Portrait of a Graduate measurable across your district.

Bring student agency, competency-based learning, and high-quality performance-based assessment into daily instruction. Turn PoG competencies into authentic student evidence, meaningful portfolios, and clear districtwide insight.

Explore the Session Book a Demo
One connected workflow
1 · SelectNYS Standards + PoG competencies
Curriculum Genie unit planner with New York standards and Portrait of a Graduate attributes selected together
2 · DesignAuthentic performance task
Curriculum Genie performance-based assessment with an essential question, big idea and assessment stages
3 · ProveStudent evidence + growth
Curriculum Genie PoG dashboard showing assessment summary, competency progress and student rating report
  • David Ross
  • Angela Di Michele Lalor
  • Dr. Sawsan Jaber
  • Dr. Kate Anderson Foley
  • Lisa Weber
  • Tim Needles
Expert faculty Built with experienced New York and national education practitioners

Curriculum · Assessment · District leadership · Deeper learning

Plus Learning Genie at NYSSBA 2026Solution in 20 · Braindates · Booth #307
NYSSBA 2026 · Buffalo · Oct 22–24

Learning Genie at NYSSBA 2026

A Solution in 20 session, two Braindates with Dr. Gene Shi, and Booth #307 on the Expo floor.

Featured · Solution in 20
Fri · Oct 23 · 11:25 AMSolution in 20 Room 1 · Exhibit Level

From Portrait of a Graduate to Scalable Local Assessment Systems

NYS StandardsPoGPerformanceEvidence
  • Build teacher capacityStart with curriculum teachers already use.
  • Create coherenceConnect standards, competencies, and assessment.
  • See the evidenceMake student demonstration visible districtwide.
Local ControlEducator JudgmentShared Criteria
The district question

How do we scale PoG without sacrificing rigor or consistency?

Dr. Gene Shi
Co-Founder & CEO, Learning Genie
Kristina Lewis
Education Partnership Consultant
See the Implementation Model
Braindate 01 · 9:00 AM

Build teacher capacity without overwhelming teachers.

Discuss: PoG implementation · professional learning · gradual practice

45 min · up to 6 peopleBraindate Lounge, Exhibit Level
Hosted by Dr. Gene ShiCo-Founder & CEO, Learning Genie
Book Braindate 01 (opens in a new tab)
Braindate 02 · 3:00 PM

How do we make the Portrait of a Graduate and local assessment a community journey, not just a state initiative?

Discuss: students · families · educators · employers · higher education

45 min · up to 6 peopleBraindate Lounge, Exhibit Level
Hosted by Dr. Gene ShiCo-Founder & CEO, Learning Genie
Book Braindate 02 (opens in a new tab)

From State Vision to District Implementation

NY Inspires is reshaping graduation around the Portrait of a Graduate, learning experiences, assessment requirements, and one diploma. Districts are now building the capacity to bring that vision into instruction and local assessment.

  1. Jul 2025
    Planning Complete

    Portrait of a Graduate Adopted

    New York established its statewide Portrait of a Graduate, launching a historic update to New York State graduation requirements under NY Inspires.

  2. Fall 2025 – Summer 2027
    Phase 1 · Installation Current

    Build capacity

    Prepare for implementation

    Develop the capacity needed to move the Portrait from district vision toward meaningful classroom practice.

  3. Fall 2027 – Summer 2029
    Phase 2 · Initial Implementation

    Bring PoG Into Daily Instruction

    Instruction + local assessment

    Integrate the Portrait into everyday instruction and local assessment.

  4. Fall 2029+
    Phase 3 · Full Implementation

    Demonstrate Proficiency

    Students demonstrate proficiency

    Students demonstrate proficiency as New York moves into full implementation.

How does PoG show up in an existing unit? · What evidence should students produce?
How is it assessed consistently? · How do leaders know it’s taking hold?

The pathway

Three stages. One connected pathway.

  1. Young students in graduation caps holding rolled diplomas on school steps.
    01 · PORTRAIT

    Define readiness.

    Start with the competencies New York and your local community expect graduates to demonstrate.

    • State Portrait of a Graduate
    • Local district priorities
    Explore Portrait of a Graduate
  2. Middle school students working together on a hands-on project at a classroom table while their teacher looks on.
    02 · PRACTICE

    Build it into learning.

    Embed competencies into standards-aligned units teachers already teach, and create meaningful opportunities for students to practice them.

    • Standards + Portrait in the same unit
    • Performance-based learning
    • Student agency
    Read the implementation guide
  3. Students reviewing a Portrait of a Graduate portfolio and a list of clear targets together in class.
    03 · PROOF

    Make growth visible.

    Collect authentic student evidence against shared success criteria, so progress becomes visible across classrooms and schools.

    • Evidence tied to success criteria
    • Consistency across classrooms
    • Visibility over time
    See the NY Inspires model

This is the implementation challenge NY Inspires creates: connecting the Portrait to what students actually experience and demonstrate.

A look inside Curriculum Genie

See how an existing unit moves through the model.

Scroll through one example of how a standards-based unit moves from existing curriculum to Portrait-aligned student evidence. Curriculum Genie is one implementation approach; teachers review, edit and approve everything it drafts.

  1. Existing unit

    Start with what teachers already teach.

    Use existing curriculum instead of rebuilding it from scratch.

    A Grade 12 unit card for Budgeting and Money Management, aligned to New York K-12 standards.
  2. Standards + Portrait

    Connect academics and graduate competencies.

    Select NYS standards and PoG attributes side by side.

    Unit planner with New York K-12 standards applied and the New York State Portrait of a Graduate attribute picker open.
  3. Performance

    Design meaningful demonstration.

    Build a performance task aligned to what students should know and demonstrate.

    A performance-based assessment with an essential question, big idea, tagged standards and staged student tasks.
  4. Success criteria

    Make quality visible.

    Define shared criteria before students begin.

    A four-level competency rubric with performance indicators from Emerging to Competent for each Portrait attribute.
  5. Evidence

    Capture the proof of learning.

    Connect student work to standards, competencies, and growth over time.

    A student's Portrait of a Graduate portfolio showing a unit project, mini masteries and achievement badges.
The PoG Belt System

Build capacity one practice at a time.

The PoG Belt System gives educators a voluntary growth pathway from awareness to application, integration, and leadership.

Belt
Progression
White Belt

Understands PoG and performance-based learning

Yellow Belt

Applies PoG within existing curriculum

Green Belt

Designs and calibrates authentic performance

Black Belt

Coaches others and helps scale practice

A growth pathway, not an evaluation system.The Belt System is a professional growth pathway, not a teacher evaluation system. Belt progress is separate from APPR and is not submitted as part of any evaluation rating. Educators build a portfolio of their own practice, at their own pace.
Leadership Capacity

Build the conditions that help educator practice stick.

Leadership development runs alongside educator growth, helping district teams align priorities, strengthen coaching, and sustain implementation.

  1. Strategic PlanningAlign leadership teams around implementation priorities and next steps.
  2. Administrator CoachingHelp leaders support educators through change with non-punitive coaching.
  3. Structural ReadinessExamine district structures such as scheduling, assessment, evidence, and implementation conditions.
  4. Sustainable ImplementationBuild internal capacity to support and expand effective practice across schools.
Explore the Belt System Overview (opens in a new tab)
Resources

Learn the framework. See it in practice.

Articles, webinars, and district use cases for putting a Portrait of a Graduate to work.

Article · Guide

What is a Portrait of a Graduate?

A clear starting point for any district team: what a Portrait of a Graduate is, why leaders adopt one, and the competencies it defines. Build the shared language your teachers and community need before you build the plan.

Read the article →
More reading
The district implementation guide → The Agency-Based Learning framework →
Students in graduation caps
Webinar

From Poster to Practice: a leader's roadmap

A session for school and district leaders: how to move a Portrait of a Graduate from a framed statement into daily instruction, and the evidence that shows it is working across classrooms.

Watch the webinar →
More to watch
Embedding PoG throughout your curriculum →
Use case

Beyond poster compliance in New York

How one New York district replaced framed-poster compliance with reviewable, multi-modal evidence: portfolio artifacts leaders can sample by grade and subject to confirm the Portrait is taught consistently across every school.

Read the use case →
More proof
The ESSA Tier 3 evidence, Johns Hopkins →
Students collaborating in a New York classroom
The NY Inspires expert-led webinar series

Learn from the people helping districts turn the Portrait into practice.

Continue the implementation journey after NYSSBA: three conversations with curriculum experts, superintendents, and national leaders in performance-based learning.

Expert-led. Practice-focused. Built around the implementation questions New York districts are facing now.

  1. Angela Di Michele LalorWEBINAR 1David RossDr. Gene Shi

    From Portrait to Practice: Curriculum-Embedded Performance Assessment for Every Teacher

    Angela Di Michele Lalor, David Ross & Dr. Gene ShiASCD author · Former P21 CEO · CEO, Learning Genie

    Thu, Oct 15, 2026 · 60 minutes
    Register →
  2. Lisa WeberWEBINAR 2Dr. Karen CheserDr. Rody BoonchouyDr. Jaron FriedDr. Jerry Almendarez

    Superintendent Panel: Leading Portrait of a Graduate Work Across a District

    Lisa Weber, ModeratorWith Dr. Karen Cheser, Dr. Rody Boonchouy, Dr. Jaron Fried & Dr. Jerry Almendarez

    Wed, Oct 28, 2026 · Time to be announced
    Registration coming soon
  3. Anthony (Tony) DayWEBINAR 3Dr. Brandon Wiley

    Regional and National Lessons for Scaling Performance-Based Learning

    Anthony (Tony) Day & Dr. Brandon WileyExecutive Director, WNYESC · Former Chief Program Officer, PBLWorks

    November 2026 · Date to be announced
    Registration coming soon
See the full webinar seriesRegister for Webinar 1 →
Ready to go deeper?

Ready to turn the Portrait into districtwide practice?

See the full NY Inspires model, from Portrait to classroom evidence.

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