Over its 10 year history, Compass Charter Schools has evolved to meet the needs of those we serve, our scholars. The idea that we are scholar-centered and put scholars first in our decision-making helps define who we are as a learning organization. The other spaces that help define Compass are our Impact Statement and our Guiding Principles. Finally, a personal point of pride is our newest north star – our Strategic Plan and Year 1 (2022-23) Action Plan.
Being #ScholarCentered and putting our #ScholarsFirst are not just hashtags; instead, they are words to live by. As I attend the Digital Learning Annual Conference in Atlanta and hear panelists and speakers talk about where we have been and where we could be going as a movement, I think about our primary educational partner – scholars. I think about and dream about what they may need to be successful. More than that, I engage with them to hear directly from them on what they need from us as their educational partner. After all, school is not for us … it’s for them. It is important for us as school leaders to engage with our scholars, and I am proud to have our Scholar Leadership Council, which meets monthly to talk about our Compass Experience and areas of opportunity to enhance and expand that experience. As the scholars were self-advocating for more learning labs, virtual social events, and awareness of all that we offer – I had moments of pride as they were helping to design their school.
Serving as a school leader comes with great responsibility. Yes, we are responsible to our community and Board of Directors, to those at the state and federal level, to our staff … we are also accountable to our key educational partners. At Compass, our scholars and their learning coaches (parents) are our key partners. Our task as school leaders is to create the conditions where they can have a voice in what their experience can and should look like. It has to be more than a simple survey (and I am guilty of utilizing surveys, such as our recently completed Parent Survey and Scholar Survey, and soon to be launched Planning Survey). Still, our voice must also come through events and forums. Forums such as Scholar Leadership Councils and Parent Advisory Councils, forums such as Parent Town Halls, events such as Coffee with the Superintendent; all these can be effective ways to receive feedback, listen to those we serve, and test messaging within these settings before they are shared with the greater school community.
I’m proud of how far we have come at Compass. I am proud of our scholar leaders on the Scholar Leadership Council, our parent leaders on our Parent Advisory Council, our staff leaders on our Staff Advisory Committee, and our Leadership Team and Cabinet as well. I am proud that we have space to receive open and honest feedback and the will to make improvements based on the voices we hear at all levels. As I reflect now at the halfway point of our 10th anniversary, I continue to be Loud and Proud about how far we have come and proud of how much further we can go … all because we are scholar-centered and put our scholars first.
Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a WASC-accredited virtual charter school that serves families throughout California. Have a question about our Compass Experience? Explore our website, or feel free to visit my webpage at https://www.compasscharters.org/about-us/superintendent-of-schools/.