The Zepeda Family and a New Year at Compass Charter Schools!

It was such a privilege to speak this week with the Zepeda family! Dana, Mom and Learning Coach, chose the Compass Charter Schools Options Program at the beginning of this school year because they did not want to send their children back on campus during the pandemic and were unhappy with the distance learning program. Her children are both very artistic and highly skilled in math and writing. Dana didn’t want her scholars online for so many hours a day and was always curious about homeschooling, so she thought they would explore a more personalized option -without so much screen time – instead. 

Zooey is eight years old, in 2-grade, and Maxwell (Max) is 11 and in 5-grade. Whitney Perea, their excellent Supervising Teacher, referred them for our blog family spotlight. After adapting to at-home schooling with the Covid-19 pandemic, they got into an at-home groove, and their scholars did not want to go back to school. Dana was initially not thrilled with the idea of schooling at home, but she found herself falling naturally into it, and her kids were happy! She balances school from home and her part-time job as a writer. Dana went to Syracuse University and graduated with a degree in Magazine Journalism. She is now a freelance writer and was the former Entertainment Director at Yoga Journal. Dana also worked as a senior correspondent at TV Guide and was the West Coast Music Editor at Teen People. She’s written for Peloton, PopSugar, Livestrong, Runner’s World, USA Today, The Washington Post, InStyle, and People, among others! 

Adam, their father, is currently the Director of Marketing for an architectural lighting company. His previous career was in film and television lighting for visual effects in Los Angeles. He loves seeing his children explore their creative side, growing and thriving in the Options program. Adam shares that his scholars are so excited when a science box is delivered to their home. He loves how his children can explore more deeply into subjects, such as music, STEM, and the language arts. 

Dana shares that Max is a perfectionist; he works diligently and throws himself fully into everything! He wakes up early every Monday for his 8 am 3D animation course! He is very dedicated to his studies and great at helping his sister. Max is also quite self-sufficient and does not take breaks; he works through all his classes and then has time for his animation work and video games. Max has also become quite an accomplished writer!

Dana is pleased with the long list of providers that Compass provides and enjoys picking out classes that her children are passionate about. She looks forward to exploring more when Covid restrictions lift, like horseback riding, art, field trips, and skateboarding!

Zooey loves math and reading. She is an excellent scholar and looks up to her older brother Max. Zooey really enjoys Beast Academy for mathematics and her coding class! She loves learning from and with her brother. They take Spanish classes online with Duolingo, a game-based app. They also both take online art classes with ArtSteps using Zoom.

In speaking with Max, he shares that he is really enjoying Compass. He finds the Options program fun and really different in a good way. He loves his animation course, Beast Academy, and studying new and interesting subjects. Max is learning Spanish on Duolingo and hopes to be fluent because his Dad has family in Mexico. He is a typical boy; he loves the outdoors, skateboarding, swimming, and mountain biking. He aspires one day to be an animator or marine biologist! 

It was a pleasure to speak with the Zepeda family, and we look forward to them having many more successful years at Compass!