A Word From Our Superintendent: A Year of Strength

A Word From Our Superintendent: A Year of Strength

2020 has been an unprecedented year in history, and as Compass Family, we have been there with you every step of the way. We have supported one another during the COVID pandemic, and very recently, have been supporting each other after the needless death of George Floyd. Both of these moments have made us pause and think about the purpose and role of education, and through reflection, ideas on ways to move forward as a supportive and caring community. This is an especially important time to move forward and make a positive difference in our world. With only seven days of the school year remaining, all of our scholars, learning coaches, and staff deserve huge accolades for an incredible school year! I would like to extend a special congratulations to all of our graduating seniors, who will be celebrated during our Virtual Commencement Ceremony on Wednesday, June 17. We are sharing social media spotlights on all our graduates this month.

As I reflect on this school year, I am so proud of our strong Compass Community, our Compass Experience, and how our role as a leader in virtual education has developed during these difficult times. We have so much to be proud of this school year. Two of our scholars were named Carson Scholar Fund awardees, Lyric Hearne-Hooker and Michael Effie, we celebrated three of our very own staff as Kappa Delta Pi Teacher of Honor Recipients, our CCS Yolo charter received initial accreditation status by WASC, we were featured in the Digital Learning Collaborative (DLC) 2020 Spotlight, our Online Elementary School Teacher Crystal Villegas presented at the Virtual Spring CUE and several webinars, and Dr. Kristin Beasley, one of our Educational Facilitators, presented at the San Diego School Counselor Conference, and more!

We have also continued to publish an excellent series of blogs every week this school year. In these blogs, we share about the success of all our departments, advice for coping, goal setting, state testing, scholar success stories, board recognition, and much more. And when COVID closed in-person activities, we highlighted suggested best practices and resources for the educational community to consider, as everyone moved to virtual learning and virtual work. 

Our Board of Directors have guided our work, asking insightful questions, and providing guidance and direction, all with the notion of putting our scholars first and supporting them along their educational journeys. We were also supported by an amazing Parent Advisory Council and Scholar Leadership Council. The support of both councils and our board, combined with our scholars’ fantastic work ethic, learning coaches, teachers, and staff, have made for a truly successful year!

Throughout June, we invite and encourage everyone to think about showing compassion, understanding, and love for those around them. Compass encourages all of its scholars to see the true gift in every person they meet. This outlook can help everyone better serve our school and our community. Our teachers and Counseling Services team provides a variety of resources and workshops to help middle school and high school scholars develop the social and emotional skills that they need to accept others’ differences and have a positive impact on our community. Our Special Education team helps scholars of all ages with learning or developmental disabilities gain the skills they need to express love, understanding, and trust for others.

As we close the 2019-20 school year, I encourage everyone to share your Compass success stories or stories of overcoming this year’s challenges and pictures of their favorite moments on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with @CompassCS and #MyCompassExperience. We also want to hear about your favorite classes, field trips, and friendships!

The upcoming 2020-21 school year promises even more advancements at CCS. Let our combined accomplishments this year shout from the rooftops that we are genuinely invested in our scholars’ success and be a testament to the amazing things we can achieve together. I want to assure our families that our passion, integrity, and transparency will remain consistent. Our top priority has always been to provide our scholars and learning coaches with a positive, engaging, and memorable experience at Compass. 

If you have any suggestions on ways to enhance the Compass experience, please let us know through our Virtual Suggestion Box for Scholars and Virtual Suggestion Box for Parents. AND if you know of anyone who should choose Compass, please share your experiences with them and invite them to join us at an upcoming Virtual Information Session (Monday, June 8).

Thank you for a great year! Finish strong, enjoy your summer, and I look forward to welcoming scholars, families, and staff back to Compass this fall!