Portfolio Defense
What is it?
Throughout their years at SEEQS, students build a collection of work that demonstrates their progress in developing the SEEQS Sustainability Skills. In their 8th grade year, SEEQers collate the best of those works into a portfolio, and then deliver a public defense of their progress before a panel, making the case that they are ready for the next stage of their education.
The Portfolio
In the portfolio, students reflect on work that offers observable evidence of their ability to apply the SEEQS Sustainability Skills. The portfolio contains five pieces of work (“exemplars”) each chosen by the student to represent their growth in one of the five Sustainability Skills.
The Defense
The defense is a live presentation before a panel composed of SEEQS teachers, community partners, and at least one fellow student.
Students make the case that they are ready for the next stage of their education by citing evidence from their portfolio. Based on the strength of the presentation, the panel makes a decision as to whether the student has passed or has room for improvement and must make another attempt.
Why Portfolio Defenses?
The portfolio defense process allows students to tell the story of their education, seeing it not as a collection of credits but as a multi-year project toward a unified end. It is a powerful rite of passage, much deeper and more substantive than a graduation ceremony alone provides.
Schools that have designed and implemented some version of a portfolio-defense system benefit from transformative changes to school culture, student identity, and organizational awareness. Benefits of the portfolio defense process include:
Ensure that a school focuses on what it values most
Encourage students to take ownership of their learning journey
Increase parental and community involvement in a school
Help a school community to self-assess and to reflect on its progress toward its goals
Embody a school’s mission in actual student performances
The SEEQS Portfolio-Defense is based on a tested model developed by Envision Education, in collaboration with education researchers at Stanford University. We have adopted and refined this process over the years to fit SEEQS .
Join Us in Empowering Young Minds
Become a Panelist!
Our 8th grade students present and defend their work to real audiences—and we’re looking for community panelists like you to join the experience!
Defenses happen in-person at our Nu‘uanu campus in late April/early May.
No commitment yet—just fill out the form below to get more info as the date gets closer.
Join us and help students reflect, grow, and celebrate their journey. Mahalo!
