Connection and customization is key, according to Sophie Samson, a middle school teacher at Compass’ Online Learning Program (Compass Online). We asked our recently hired teacher a few questions – we think you’re going to appreciate her as much as we do.
Compass Online is a free public school for grades K-12, serving Los Angeles, San Diego, Yolo, and surrounding counties. We are The Gold Standard in Virtual Education, and our teachers do a great job proving this.
What experiences prepared you for teaching at Compass Online?
“I have been teaching since 2014, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Federated States of Micronesia, then as an English teacher in South Los Angeles, and after that as an English and science teacher in Pomona. When the pandemic forced the school where I was working in Pomona to go online from March 2020-April 2021, it was really interesting to see that online learning actually seemed to work better for some scholars. I worked at an arts-focused charter school at the time, and a lot of my scholars had come to that school because they did not fit in at traditional public schools. Seeing how much some of them enjoyed online learning made me interested in teaching online on a more long-term basis. It made me realize that there is a need for quality online education in general, not just during a pandemic. I wanted to work at Compass Online because it seems like the people who work here have been aware of that need for a while and have been working for years already to provide that service.”
Online Learning vs. Brick & Mortar
“So far, it seems like teaching online allows me to focus more on the content and on connecting with families and less on all of the other tasks that pull teachers in a million different directions in brick-and-mortar schools. I’ve always really valued making connections with families, but it’s often ended up being pushed to the end of my list of priorities in the past because I’ve been so busy with lesson planning, grading, and teaching face-to-face for the entire school day, among other things. Teaching learning labs one day a week will free up time for grading and planning during the rest of the week and leave me plenty of time to connect with families and scholars. Having this online curriculum to use as a foundation/starting point and having time to customize it and create supplementary materials is a really nice change.”
What attracted you to Compass Online?
“I loved the fact that Compass Online has been online for years. Other online schools that I talked to only went online after the pandemic started and were definitely still figuring things out. I’ve worked at a brand new school before, and while I love the energy and enthusiasm that people have when starting a new and exciting venture, it can be frustrating (for staff, scholars, and parents) to have to start from scratch. I think it makes sense to invest in schools that already have a system down for online education before starting and staffing a bunch of new ones.”
Mission & Vision
“What I like about this mission is that it reflects the characteristics that scholars will need to be successful later in life, even outside of an academic environment. To me, it means that not only are we focused on teaching our scholars academic content, we want to make sure they have the skills they need to keep learning and to be successful after they leave Compass as well. I’ve spent a lot of time at other schools working with scholars who need a lot of support and scaffolding to access grade-level material, and it can be challenging to find a balance between providing enough support and also building autonomy and independence. I’m glad that finding that balance is something that is valued here at Compass, and that other teachers are working on as well.”
Thank you, Sophie! We look forward to your first year teaching full-time at Compass Online this year. You definitely have the Firebird Spirit, and we are Loud & Proud about it.
If you are considering online learning for your scholar, we welcome you to check out Compass’ Online Learning Program (Compass Online), our free public K-12 schools serving Los Angeles, San Diego, Yolo, and surrounding counties. We’re enrolling now!
About Compass
Compass Charter Schools’ Online Learning Program (Compass Online) celebrates 10 years as the Gold Standard in Virtual Education. Serving thousands of online scholars throughout California, we support each K-12 scholar and learning coach with in-house counselors, talented accredited teachers, and a staff of excellence. As the only Purple Star School in California and one of the few online AVID programs in the nation, Compass Online is beyond unique and impressive. Rise and Soar with our Firebirds – Enroll today!