Portrait of a Graduate

Our Six Navigational Stars

Cornell School District’s Portrait of a Graduate identifies the skills, qualities, and mindsets our students need to thrive in school and beyond. Like stars that help travelers find their way, our six Navigational Stars provide a shared direction for learning and personal growth throughout a student’s educational journey. Agency, Citizenship, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Resiliency, and Technology Literacy guide the experiences we create for students. Together, they help prepare every Cornell graduate to pursue their goals, contribute to their community, adapt to new challenges, and succeed in a changing world.

	Agency Taking pride and ownership in doing one's personal best; giving maximum effort without incentives from others. Self-Awareness - Conscious understanding of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Self-Motivation - Motivation to accomplish something based on one's own goals or interests, without needing pressure from others. Self-Reliance - Reliance on one's own personal powers and resources rather than those of others. Life-long Learner - Continual pursuit of learning for personal and/or professional reasons.
	Citizenship Actively engaging with society; striving to make one's own community better for future generations; representing the ethical and moral responsibilities that contribute to the well-being of society. Integrity - Adhering to moral and ethical principles, being honest and fair, and consistently doing what is right even when it is difficult or unpopular. Empathy - Understanding and sharing the feelings and perspectives of others. Civic Responsibility - Fulfilling the duties and obligations to one's community by being engaged in civic affairs. Environmental Stewardship - Acting in consideration for the planet's long-term health by emphasizing the importance of protecting and sustaining natural resources and the environment.
	Collaboration Working well with peers and resolving conflict when interacting with others. Communication - Exchanging information through various means. Teamwork - Working with a group to achieve a common goal in an effective and efficient manner. Leadership & Social Influence - Utilizing a set of behaviors to help positively impact another person's beliefs, attitudes, or actions. Reliability - Exhibiting trustworthiness and maintaining consistent performance.
	Problem Solving Demonstrating the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking; synthesizing and evaluating information to generate new judgments, ideas, and questions. Analytical Thinking - Breaking down complex information into smaller parts to understand problems, identify potential solutions, and suggest the resolution that most likely results in the desired outcome. Systems Thinking - Understanding how different parts of a system interact and influence each other within that particular system. Creative Thinking - Generating novel approaches and solutions to problems through research, brainstorming, and iterations.
	Resiliency Exhibiting commitment to overcoming obstacles and barriers. Flexibility - Considering all possible options, identifying opportunities, and devising a plan to adjust to new conditions and to use knowledge and resources in new ways. Agility - Taking swift action when responding to unexpected situations. Emotional Regulation - Managing and responding to emotional experiences by using healthy strategies to diffuse or moderate negative emotions.
	Technology Literacy Demonstrating the ability to access, acquire, manage, utilize, and communicate information in a digital, global, hyperconnected world. Al & Big Data - Understanding the relationship and importance of artificial intelligence algorithms and big data or large sets of information in decision-making. Networks & Cyber Security - Recognizing the role of security practices that businesses, governments, and individuals can take to protect themselves from nefarious actors. Design & User Experience (UX)- Implementing the UX process when developing products and services to provide meaningful experiences for users.