Portrait of an Eagle

At Cumberland Valley School District, our students are living the Portrait of an Eagle every day. Since its launch in Spring 2022, the Portrait of an Eagle has been guiding how we teach and learn, with more than 100 community partners—including parents, high school students, business leaders, and staff—helping shape this vision. The Portrait of an Eagle identifies seven key competencies: Communication, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Adaptability, Confidence, Empathy, and Responsibility.

These skills and dispositions aren’t just ideas on paper—they’re things our students are practicing every day in real, meaningful ways. From collaborating on projects that require strong communication and problem-solving, to demonstrating adaptability and empathy during group activities, students are consistently honing these competencies in their classrooms and beyond.

Our staff is dedicated to fostering these essential skills through instruction and creating environments that challenge students to take responsibility for their learning and actions. Through this intentional focus, Cumberland Valley students are equipped to graduate not just with knowledge, but with the skills and mindset they need to succeed in a dynamic world.

Our Competencies

Adapts To A Changing Environment

Works effectively in a changing environment.
Demonstrates agility in thoughts and actions.
Shows resilience by responding productively to feedback, praise, setbacks, and criticism.
Understands, negotiates, and balances diverse views and beliefs to reach workable solutions.

Communicates Effectively

Articulates thoughts and ideas efficiently and effectively using oral, written, and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.
Listens respectfully and effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes, and intentions.
Uses communication for a range of purposes, platforms, and audiences (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate, and persuade).

Possesses Confidence

Believes in one’s ability to ultimately attain a defined goal.
Persists to overcome adversity and obstacles to uncover alternate strategies to achieve goals.
Reflects on successes and failures as a means to refine the path moving forward.
Takes initiative and acts with purpose and courage.

Demonstrates Empathy

Demonstrates awareness, sensitivity, concern, and respect for the feelings, opinions, experiences, and culture of others.
Imagines what others are thinking, feeling, or experiencing and connects to those thoughts, feelings or experiences.

Thinks Critically

Identifies and prioritizes information in a variety of forms.
Elicits diverse perspectives and contributions to more deeply understand a topic or issue.
Evaluates information to determine its relevance, source, and factual basis.

Solves Complex Problems

Proposes solutions that are mindful of all potentially positive and negative impacts they may have.
Reflects critically on a solution and takes appropriate action.
Seeks, contributes, and responds to feedback to achieve collective outcomes.

Acts Responsibly

Demonstrates care for the interests of the larger community and greater good.
Honors commitments and owns the outcomes, whether positive or negative.
Earns trust and respect through honest, principled behaviors.
Acts with integrity by adhering to a set of core values that are evident in choices and behaviors.
Knows how to make appropriate personal economic choices.