Compass Chronicle
Los Angeles Charter | September 2020
A Word from our Principal, Janae Smith
The 2020-21 school year is proving to be the best yet! Scholars have been working hard these past few weeks and are striving for excellence. The entire team has already noticed many of our scholars exemplifying our school’s core ARTIC values: Achievement, Respect, Teamwork, Integrity, and Communication. Our scholars focus on their achievement, being respectful to their teachers and each other, collaborating and working in teams, showing integrity, and consistently communicating to ensure success.
It has been an excellent start to the school year, and we look forward to the many outstanding accomplishments that our scholars will achieve throughout the rest of the year!
What's Been Happening at the Los Angeles Charter?
Our scholars and teachers have been busy this year! First, our entire team of teachers participated in a three day AVID XP training to learn research-based strategies to provide AVID to all scholars. During this training, teachers learned about WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading) strategies to help our scholars develop critical thinking skills and be prepared for college and career.
The first few weeks of school have been spent on taking our benchmark assessments--Istation (grades TK-5) and Edgenuity (grades 6-12). We want to thank each and every one of you for contributing to this important initiative, as it helps Supervising Teachers (STs), our special education team, our Scholar Success Coordinator and tutors, target areas of growth, and where we can best support our scholars. We are also able to celebrate strengths so we appreciate our scholars doing their very best on these benchmarks!
Our learning coaches, scholars, and supervising teachers all met in connection meetings. During these connection meetings, scholars set their goals for the year and together, with their supervising teacher, created a plan to achieve those goals. Our teachers are looking forward to continuing these meetings throughout the year.
Our online scholars have actively engaged in their Accelerate education courses and their learning labs. Teachers and scholars have worked together to establish classroom norms and expectations to start the year strong.
The biggest news for our options scholars is the change in ordering and using OPS to place curriculum orders. It was quite a relief when the new system was launched without a hitch so families can order their engaging curriculum. Thank you to all of the families who worked with their supervising teachers, participated in many subscriptions, and provided curriculum as the glitches were all worked out.
Work Samples and Learning Labs!
Online scholars dive into learning labs! Here, Ms. Fullerton reviews class rules with her fourth graders.
Scholar Story: Mia M.
Meet Mia, a third-grader scholar
Mia’s learning coach/Mother shares insight into what brought them to CCS:
Why did your family choose to learn from home instead of a traditional school building?
When my family returned from an extended stay in Germany, where my daughter attended elementary school for a semester, I knew it would be hard for her to readjust to her former American public school. The days are much longer and the school is a lot less personal than in Germany. I wanted to give her time to readjust to living in America, and since there were only four months left in the school year, I felt comfortable giving personalized learning a try. It had always seemed too overwhelming before.
Does learning from home help your scholar achieve their goals? Is yes, please explain how.
CCS has helped my daughter Mia reach her goals. She’s a quick learner and has many interests. Right now, she is learning how to play the piano. After the traditional school day, she was always too exhausted for another structured activity. She had too much structure and too little play in her day. Now she has plenty of time to be a child and enjoys learning new things.
We know that when learning at home each day is different, but what is a typical school day like for your scholar?
Mia has a very efficient schedule. Before and after breakfast, I let her read her books and play with her brother, while I have my coffee and quiet time. We are ready usually around 9.30 am, to sit down and work on her curriculum, either in language arts and social studies or math and science.
After that, we have an active break, take a bike ride, walk, or play in the backyard. At lunchtime, her little brother takes a nap, and we work on German reading and writing. Some days she goes to nature camp in the afternoon. On days with no camp, she gets to do 30-60 minutes of Epic or Prodigy on the computer.
What do you enjoy most about being part of Compass?
We both like working creatively in the evening, so sometimes we will dive into a project after dinner. I love that we have the flexibility to do this. It has been wonderful to see her anxiety decrease and to see how much fun she has while learning!
Share a challenge that you have experienced as a learning coach and how you have worked to overcome the challenge.
I’m not very enthusiastic about math, and neither is my child. Often it gets pushed out towards the end of the week. We have found a way to overcome this is through play! We incorporate our math practice in imaginative play (like playing store), and she thrives. She also enjoys prodigy math and I’m having fun exploring new fun ways of teaching math to her.
Why did you decide to school from home with Compass Charter Schools?
I was introduced to Abi, my wonderful ST, through a homeschooling friend of mine. She was so kind and welcoming, and after the first conversation with her, my worries and fears disappeared. She helped me through this new, exciting, and overwhelming transition. I knew then that Compass was the right fit for us.
This year, I want to look deeper into all the different ways Compass can support us. My ST is super helpful with all of the many questions we have had. We love the freedom to explore new ways of learning while having wonderful support and experts to guide us.
Share a piece of advice you’d give to a parent thinking about taking their child out of school to school at home?
My piece of advice when enrolling in a personalized learning or virtual school is to take your time. Get to know your child and his or her learning style before you start teaching. In the beginning, I paid more attention to our daily conversations and experiences. It was eye-opening to notice how many learning opportunities every day naturally brings.
What do you, your scholar, and the family enjoy doing together during your free time?
In our free time, we love to listen to music, watch theater, travel, ride horses, read, and eat delicious food! We like to explore new places together, especially around moving water!
Scholar Story: Owen B.
Meet Owen B., a seventh-grade scholar!
Why did your family choose to learn from home instead of a traditional school building?
We chose to learn from home during spring break when all of the local school districts shut down due to COVID-19. It was a time of uncertainty for everyone, but personally, as a parent, I wanted to secure a stable education for my son, so I took initiative right away and we’re so glad that I did because Compass Charter School is like a well-oiled machine, so to speak in terms of online learning.
Does learning from home help your scholar achieve their goals? Is yes, please explain how.
Compass is absolutely helping my son achieve his goals since he is easily distracted otherwise, I am here to make sure he stays on task and finishes each assignment on time. It is great having his teachers readily available through text or zoom when he needs a little help.
We know that when learning at home each day is different, but what is a typical school day like for your scholar?
My son wakes up around 7 am and gets ready for the day. He eats breakfast and then logs in around 8 am. He works independently through his subjects in order of when things are due. At 10 am he has a Learning Lab, so he gets on zoom with his teachers and class.
After this, he will do something active like skate, swim, ride his bike, play basketball, or take a walk with his siblings. When we get back, it’s lunchtime and then he finishes up any school work that is due for the day, and if it’s early enough, he will get a jump start on something due for the following day.
What has been your greatest joy in schooling your scholar at home?
The extra time that I have with my son during the day is priceless (they grow up so fast). Being able to assist him and make sure he’s really learning is invaluable.
Share a challenge that you have experienced as a learning coach and how you have worked to overcome the challenge.
A challenge we have faced is balancing school and family. Being a stay-at-home mom with 2 toddlers and a teenager can get overwhelming at times. I am challenged with learning to balance my time to accommodate everyone while also doing what I can to run the household. I have been delegating more responsibilities to my teenager, to ensure that everything gets done on time. The online program at Compass has been the best thing for us because the resources are available when we need them and I can take a back seat for the most part and allow my son to work independently.
Why did you decide to school from home with Compass Charter Schools?
I found Compass Charter Schools through a google search and read some reviews. I really liked what I read, so we signed up. We decided to stay with Compass for this school year (and probably in the future as well) as opposed to our local school district’s distance learning program which I found to be very frustrating for everyone involved.
How does Compass support your scholar?
My son's teacher, Ms. Carrie Talcott has been the biggest help for us from day one and we are so grateful for her. Compass has their curriculum laid out and easy to follow, which is a major plus for this busy Mama! Ms.Talcott is very communicative and makes sure that we are doing ok and offers her assistance often.
Learning Labs with my son's other teachers are very organized and offer a great deal of information and direction. Overall, the support we have received from everyone has been excellent.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the Compass family?
We are somewhat “new” to the Compass family but so far we enjoy the warm welcome we’ve received. My sons' teachers are all so kind and communicative and we’re looking forward to an awesome school year.
Share a piece of advice you’d give to a parent thinking about taking their child out of school to school at home?
My advice to parents new to online learning is to understand, that just like anything else, there is always going to be a learning curve. Give yourself grace. Everything will come together with time and practice. Learning at home is SO worth it.
What do you, your scholar, and the family enjoy doing together during your free time?
In their spare time, we enjoy spending time as a family, on bike rides, fishing, at car shows, and getting together for a backyard BBQ. My son is also a Civil Air Patrol Cadet (U.S. Air Force Auxiliary), and he enjoys video games, playing ice hockey, and basketball.
Staff Spotlight: Ms. Lasley
Meet Ms. Lasley, Supervising Teacher!
Ms. Lasley is fairly new to the CCS family but not new to education. This year, we are fortunate to have her as a Supervising Teacher and helping with our assessment data. To help families get to know Ms. Lasley better, she shared some things about herself:
What is your job title and job responsibilities at Compass? How long have you worked for this organization?
I have worked for Compass since the last week of October 2019. My job title is Supervising Teacher, and TOSA - Assessment.
Tell us your “why” for doing what you do here at Compass.
My “why” here at Compass has many layers. I want scholars to love learning, and as an Options ST that requires relationship building, mentoring continuous knowledge building, and a lot of flexibility. I want my LC’s to love sharing the educational process with their scholars, and I thrive on helping them learn how to do that. I also want to really be inspirational, as well as a joy to fellow staff. I want those in my sphere to feel I genuinely care about and respect them. That is my passion and heart.
As an educator, is there a piece of advice you’d like to share with learning coaches or scholars?
Use standards as a framework so that you can relax a little and insert fun into the educational ride. When learning includes fun and laughter, it is retained.
Share one thing about you that very few people know.
I have a daughter-in-law who is also an ST here at Compass and my son’s mother-in-law (my dear friend of 25 years) here on staff as well. I am a former marathon runner and a Grandma of almost four children!
What do you and your family like to do during your free time?
We love to be in nature, in the mountains or water, and we love peace and quiet while being together. We also just recently got an RV, so new adventures await!
Staff Spotlight: Ms. Hooper
Meet Ms. Hooper, Online Instructor!
Ms. Hooper is one of our fantastic Online Instructors who teaches Kindergarten.
What is your job title and job responsibilities at Compass? How long have you worked for this organization?
Hi, there my name is Katie Hooper I have been with Compass Charters for almost six years. I love to introduce our elementary school kids to the adventure of online learning. As an Online Teacher, I believe that it is vital to have a plan and follow a schedule daily and complete your lessons.
What do you and your family like to do during your free time?
I love to read in my spare time, particularly historical fiction. In our free time, my family loves to go out to the river on the new boat my husband bought this summer. You can often find my family on our boat at the river.
Thank you for coming to our amazing school and sharing your family with us!
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Compass Charter Schools
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Website: www.compasscharters.org
Location: 850 Hampshire Road, Suite P, Thousand Oaks, CA, United States
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