Portrait of a Learner Meeting Notes
Meeting 2: September 29, 2026
The Portrait of a Learner team met on Tuesday, September 29th, continuing its work to identify the skills and attributes CCSD 46 students will need to succeed in school, the workforce, and life.
Most of the meeting was spent working in small groups, with each group challenged to identify the 10 attributes they believed were most important to include in the Portrait of a Learner. Groups engaged in thoughtful discussion as they considered a wide range of possible skills and attributes and worked together to reach consensus on their selections.
Each group then presented its recommendations to the full team and made the case for why its selected attributes should be included. Students played a particularly important role in these presentations and did an outstanding job sharing their perspectives and explaining what they believe will be most important for their future.
Following the presentations, team members voted on the attributes identified by the groups. Through this process, the team narrowed the list of possibilities to 10 terms for further consideration.
Before the team makes its final selections, staff, families, and community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the 10 remaining terms. When the Portrait of a Learner team reconvenes in several weeks, members will review this stakeholder feedback and use it to help narrow the list to the final 5–7 attributes that will make up CCSD 46’s Portrait of a Learner.
As our Portrait of a Learner committee narrowed the list of attributes to 10 at the September 29th meeting, we now need to hear from you, our families, community, students, and staff to select the 5-7 key terms that will shape our Portrait of a Learner for CCSD 46.
This work is built on your voice. After reviewing more than 2,000 survey responses from students, staff, families, and community members, and holding two working meetings with our Portrait of a Learner Committee, we are ready to share the first iteration of the terms the Committee has compiled. The Committee includes students, staff, families, and community stakeholders, and these terms reflect what they heard from you.
The list included in this survey is a draft, and we need your feedback before anything is final. The Committee’s goal is to select 5 to 7 key terms for our final Portrait of a Learner. Your input will directly inform which terms move forward. The list contains the top ten traits identified by the CCSD 46 Portrait of a Learner Committee at its most recent meeting held on Tuesday, September 29. Please take a few minutes to review them and select the five skills and traits you believe matter most for our students.
This survey only takes a few minutes to complete as you select the five skills and traits you believe matter most for our students. The survey will remain open through Friday, October 9, 2026. Thank you for helping us define what success looks like for every CCSD 46 learner.
PROGRESS TRACKER
PHASE 1: Listening & Learning <<< We are here
PHASE 2: Data Analysis & Themes
PHASE 3: Goal Drafting & Strategy Development – The committee is synthesizing findings into our core pillars
PHASE 4: Community Review & Refinement
PHASE 5: Board Approval & Launch
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dr. Alfonso Carmona
Superintendent
email: [email protected] | 847-543-5322
Have any questions or want to provide feedback to the team? Use our Questions and Feedback form linked below. This information will be shared with the public, but we will not share any personal information. This form will close on November 2nd, to allow the team time to complete their work.