That dream is a reality for many graduates of Crow Island School in Winnetka, Ill., where Hebert is principal. Asking students to keep cumulative portfolios of their work has been part of the elementary school program for 14 years now. As a result, Hebert and the teachers at Crow Island have much to share with others about the portfolio process. Portfolios help build self-awareness, for example. The process of selection and making decisions about how to organize a portfolio stimulates that kind of thinking in students.
Portfolios also contribute to teacher growth.
That subtle shift in perspective is a first step in truly giving students ownership of their portfolios and their learning, she explained. As a school leader, she had to learn to be comfortable with this variety. Teachers will initially want to impose their own sense of organization on their students' collections, Hebert observed. They soon discover, however, that children become expert at explaining why their portfolios are organized as they are. And that is the power of portfolios, Hebert affirmed.