Compass Chronicle
Compass Charter Schools | Options | October 2019
LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
Meet Kristy Smith, Director of our Options (Homeschool) Learning Program! Kristy has been part of Compass for three years and has been working in education for over 20 years. She’s taught math and Spanish to high school scholars and is an experienced homeschool parent. A few fun things to know about Kristy are that, when she can catch a moment of free time, she loves reading biographies, watching murder mysteries, and going out past the waves at the beach. She also enjoys playing games, cheering for her kids at soccer games, and spending time with her family and friends.
Options Scholars' Work Samples
Our TK scholar R. Gillen practiced his rhyming skills! In this photo, he practiced rhyming the words pop and stop.
An Options Family Story!
This month, we’re featuring the Pugh family! Take a moment to get to know their great family and their experience at Compass:
1. Could you please share a little bit about your family with us? How many children, pets, etc.?
We are the Pugh Family - Bryan, Randi, Kristen, & Zakary. We live in Huntington Beach and enjoy spending time together visiting museums, going for bike rides, and having picnics at the park. Oh, and we are really big Disneyland and Disney World fans! We have a rescued German Shepard/Cattle dog named Dash.
2. What does a typical day of homeschooling look like for your family?
Zakary is a 5-grade special education scholar with Compass. Our day involves a routine of general subject instruction, independent reading, online math, as well as additional education services such as speech therapy and specialized academic instruction from a Compass special education teacher. We also have routine physical education time at a local park next to Kristen’s high school.
3. As a parent, what do you enjoy most about teaching your scholar at home?
We love having the ability to give Zak the support and resources that he needs to meet his educational, social, and emotional goals. We love being able to enrich his education with real-life experiences and to include lessons on life-skills that are essential. It has also been great to be learning and re-learning alongside him and carrying that knowledge outside of instructional time and into our daily life.
4. What do you enjoy most about being part of the Compass family? Why have you decided to return to Compass this year?
We absolutely love our entire educational team. With a special education child, we have a variety of people who come together to support Zak, and Compass has given us an amazing team that works with us to ensure Zak’s continued success. This is our fourth year with Compass and our third year in the Options program. In those years we have watched as Zak has made progress, conquered challenges, and learned how to love learning. We have been able to change curriculums mid-way in the school year to accommodate a newly discovered learning gap. We can step away from our usual curriculum to manage an unforeseen situation that reduces our available time, and bring in core subject resources that Compass provides to continue learning even in challenging circumstances.
5. How does Compass help your scholar achieve their goals or dreams?
Compass has allowed us to remove the challenges of a traditional classroom environment that were hindering Zak’s academic progress. The home learning environment allows us to manage anxiety to allow for real learning. It enables us to layer in support structures that help him to make grade-level progress in reading comprehension, while we work with the special education teacher to master the functional decoding skills for reading and spelling. It is a fully customized education that plays to Zak’s strengths while supporting his goals to overcome his challenges. Our core goal for Zak is for him to be able to pursue his dreams, and have a solid foundation of academics, life skills, and social/emotional function that will set him up for real success. Compass has enabled that foundation through their online platform for services, homeschool options, and a great support team!
Check Out Our Engagement Activities!
Earlier this month our Engagement Department organized Back-to-School picnics throughout California for our scholars and their families! Our families and staff enjoyed fun activities like an egg drop, sack race, and arts and crafts while enjoying time with each other in-person. Our scholars played with their peers while our learning coaches enjoyed casual conversation with each other and our staff!
Our Staff Development
Staff Spotlight
Angela Cloud
Years in Education: 30
Fun Fact: She has twin 18-year old daughters who are so different she feels they have been her best teachers in understanding the need for personalized learning.
Favorite Educational Quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats
Ruth Chavez-Rivera
Position: Regional Options Coordinator
Years in Education: 20+
Interesting sentence: Be sure you put your feet in the right place, Then Stand Firm---Abraham Lincoln
Favorite Educational Quote: "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
Karle Roberts
Years in Education: 18
My favorite line that I say to my children: "Be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Favorite Educational Quote: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela
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Compass Charter Schools
Email: info@compasscharters.org
Website: www.compasscharters.org
Location: 850 Hampshire Road, Suite P, Thousand Oaks, CA, United States
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CompassCS/
Twitter: @CompassCS
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