It’s a special time here at Metro, as seniors are in the midst of their College Success Portfolio Defenses. This is quite arguably the most important moment in their high school career, and the mood is electric. The College Success Portfolio is a graduation requirement at all Envision Schools. Students spend four years preparing for it: perfecting their work, improving their ability to present in front of an audience, and developing their 21st Century Leadership Skills. For the last few months of their senior year, they work intensively to assemble the College Success Portfolio, a collection of the best work from the past two years at Metro. On the day of their Defense, each student stands in front of an audience of teachers, peers and families to present their portfolio. Their goal: to convince the audience that they are truly ready to graduate and be successful in college. Using their work as evidence, they tell the story of their development as a student, showing the audience they are able to KNOW, DO and REFLECT. If the panel is convinced, the student passes and goes on to graduate. If the panel is not convinced, the student spends the next several days revising their portfolio and practicing their presentation in order to resubmit – and then goes before the panel to try again.
12th grader Michelle defends her College Success Portfolio
It’s an intense and challenging experience, but as with all difficult things in life, the rewards that come from the completing the College Success Portfolio are beyond measure. Students push their academic abilities to new limits and achieve things they didn’t know they were capable of. Our graduates often tell us the College Success Portfolio was more challenging than anything in their first year of college, as a result, they feel very well prepared for college level work. This is why it’s a requirement – at Metro, we believe that getting our students into college is simply not enough. They must also be adequately prepared to succeed, and this is why over 90% of our graduates persist in college after their first year.
So in the midst of the stress, the late nights in the computer lab, the endless revisions and the constant rehearsals that precede the College Success Portfolio Defenses, the Metro students power through, knowing that it’s all worth it, looking forward to the moment when they can hear the panel say, “You Passed!”
