The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District hosted a Community Forum on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at J-D High School to offer an in-person opportunity to connect with members of the school community. Administrators and staff took turns outlining three focus areas that are seen and felt in all of our buildings.
Portrait of a Graduate
Superintendent Darcy Woodcock began with an informational presentation on the New York State Education Department’s Portrait of a Graduate. The initiative aims to create a shared understanding of the skills and knowledge students should demonstrate upon graduating from high school.
Woodcock explained the framework which focuses on six core competencies: being academically prepared, a creative innovator, a critical thinker, an effective communicator, a global citizen, and reflective. It provides opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery through performance-based tasks instead of just traditional regents exams. With a phased-in approach, the statewide requirement for instruction to be aligned to the portrait begins with students entering grade 9 during the 2029-30 school year.
The State Education Department is expected to release updated learning standards and Portrait-aligned rubrics before Summer 2027. New requirements for financial literacy and climate education will be implemented for the 2026-27 school year.
Woodcock explained what the district already has in place or in progress to make the transition easier on staff and students. For example, J-D High School already has a financial algebra course which meets the requirement for financial literacy as well as a number of seals, programs, and pathways.
The shift will happen across all grade levels and will culminate in one graduation diploma for New York state.
Safety
Moses DeWitt Elementary School Principal Victoria Lee and School Patrol Officer Chris Schmitt turned the discussion to safety. At the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, all Jamesville-DeWitt schools welcomed a School Patrol Officer (SPO) through a partnership with the Town of DeWitt Police Department. All five retired from a career in law enforcement. Their role is to provide increased safety and security, they are not involved in student discipline.
SPO Schmitt works at Moses DeWitt, where he has become an integral part of the school community. At the forum, he explained his role at the school, what a typical day looks like, and how he trains and supports staff throughout the year to improve building safety protocols.
Beyond duties you would expect like doing school ground security checks, helping during arrival and dismissal, providing safety drill support and debriefing, and reviewing surveillance cameras — he also prioritizes building relationships with students and staff. SPO Schmitt spends time with students during recess and lunch and is also invited into classrooms.
He also explained how he routinely checks in with the other SPOs working across the district. They often spend time at the other buildings, ensuring they know all of the school layouts, offering support, building relationships and providing feedback when they think there is room for improvement.
Superintendent Woodcock also provided attendees with a few safety-related updates. She shared that the district is still waiting on the approval of grant funding to move forward with weapon detection systems in buildings. Administrators and building leaders are also working to re-establish a districtwide safety team.
Equity
This year, all Jamesville-DeWitt schools established an equity team with a dedicated facilitator. Teams used their school’s climate survey data with feedback from students and families to identify specific areas of focus.
Jamesville Elementary School Principal Marcy Baker and Jamesville Elementary Teacher and Equity Team Facilitator Joshua Frank took time to explain equity efforts in their building. They are trying to identify ways the school can better support economically disadvantaged students.
Examples of other efforts include addressing students of color reporting a lower sense of belonging, while another is exploring why some students answered less favorably to the question, “How interested are you in your classes?”
To better understand the experiences of their students and families, teams have been gathering additional perspectives through follow-up surveys, conversations at Parent-Teacher conferences, and empathy interviews with students. Schools are currently developing strategies to address their specific area of disproportionality. The facilitators from each school meet monthly for ongoing training, support, and celebration.
The district’s equity work continues to evolve based on stakeholder feedback. For example, teams are thoughtfully considering how this process fits within and alongside other school structures, like Building Leadership Teams, to ensure sustainable and meaningful progress. The teams are also looking for ways to gather more family and student input as their efforts continue.
If you have questions about the forum topics, you’re encouraged to reach out to the District Office.