Compass Chronicle
Yolo Charter | September 2020
A Word From our Principal, Jason Bee
Hello, and welcome to the 2020/2021 school year! As many of you know, my name is Jason Bee, and I am the very proud principal for our newest Compass Charter, CCS Yolo. I am honored to lead our team, our Yolo Supervising Teachers (ST's), for two exceptional academic programs, Options and Online. I am joined by our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Karle Roberts, and our team of teachers with one focus this year, to provide all of our scholars and families with the Gold Standard in Virtual Education. To this end, our academic team meets regularly to engage in academic collaboration and analyze current data to ensure we are always refining our instruction to best support our scholars.
I want to take this opportunity to thank our Learning Coaches/Parents, for choosing to be part of our Compass family and active team members for their scholar. With almost two decades in education, I can honestly say that CCS is a special school. As I begin my eighth year at Compass, it is amazing to see how far our school has come. I know with the adoption of the new Online curriculum (Accelerate Education), a new procurement system (OPS), and a new Scholar Information System (School Pathways), this will be an exciting year full of growth throughout the school.
The heart of our school has not changed, our Supervising Teachers and supporting team members. All of our highly qualified teachers and support staff are indeed what makes Compass great. Whether it’s through bi-weekly Connections meetings, weekly Learning Labs, or any of the other academic and social-emotional supports we deploy, our instructional staff is the glue that binds CCS together. I am proud of my team’s work every day with every one of our scholars.
I hope that you all have a great school year and that our scholars go loud and proud into their future as a Compass Firebirds!
Best wishes,
Jason A. Bee, Yolo Principal
What's Been Happening at the Yolo Charter?
This year our Compass teachers and staff are uniting under one common school-wide goal, our Wildly Important Goal or WIG. Our 2020/21 CCS WIG focuses on scholar engagement; that 100% of our eligible scholars will graduate by the end of the 2020-21 school year. We will ensure that our current senior class has every support throughout the school year, and all Compass scholars, no matter their current grade level, are supported and ready for graduation when that time comes. Moreover, this goal will keep all CCS teachers and staff efforts aligned to ensure scholars and our Supervising Teachers are well supported to meet this goal.
I am proud to say that this work has already begun, as is shared in the Scholar and Supervising Teacher Spotlights below.
Work Samples and Learning Labs!
Scholar Spotlight: Caleb and Jacob
What a privilege it is for us to call ourselves a Compass Firebird family! We joined Compass last year after my son would come home from school in tears every single day. We immediately knew that a classroom was not a good fit for him. We hesitantly decided to start both our children with CCS, which turned out to be the best decision we have made!
Our children are in kindergarten and second grade and are THRIVING, and working well above grade level in all subjects. We have the best team of supporting teachers and experts guiding us and meeting our children’s unique academic needs.
As an autism mom, it is refreshing to have an entire team dedicated to my child’s best interests. Not only do they support his needs, but they do it with real dedication and care. Our children are receiving gold standard excellence in education, and we couldn’t be happier!
Teaching our children from home allows us the flexibility to spend more family time together, doing the things we love. We take lots of movement breaks and spend as much time outside together as possible, allowing our children time to be just that, children. Wild and free.
Thank you, Compass, for all that you provide for our family! We are forever grateful.
Sincerely, Barbara, a Very Happy Firebird Mama!
Staff Spotlight: Andrea Lomeli
Meet Mrs. Andrea Lomeli, Yolo Online Middle School Teacher and AVID Program Coordinator!
What is your job title and job responsibilities at Compass? How long have you worked for this organization?
I have loved working for Compass Charter Schools for the last four years and am super excited to be starting my fifth year as a middle school teacher and newly appointed AVID Program Coordinator. I have the best job in the world, supporting my scholars and families in their personalized learning journey! I am passionate about building relationships with our excellent staff and utilizing AVID’s WICOR strategies to enhance scholar achievement and rigor in all courses. In AVID, we develop a college and career culture throughout the school to support our scholars’ post-secondary goals and dreams.
Tell us your “why” for doing what you do here at Compass.
I love connecting with scholars all over the state and meeting them where they are in their learning. I have a passion for blending technology and developing 21st-century skills in the classroom and helping my scholars build their toolbox for the future! I also enjoy providing our learning coaches with tools to support their scholars and help them dream big and set their futures goals.
As an educator, is there a piece of advice you’d like to share with learning coaches or scholars?
Especially for 2020, grace is my go-to word. As we enter another busy school year, this time during a Global Pandemic, all of us are facing different issues at home. I want to lead with grace and offer love and respect in all we do. As long as we continue to communicate, we can get through this school year together. Making sure to show empathy to individual situations and provide support, resources, and encouragement is my main goal for the year. We will learn many wonderful things this year, as we transition to the next grade level. Among the most important are developing scholar advocacy, organization, time management, and grace.
Share one thing about you that very few people know.
One thing few people know about me is that I love to sing! I think I know 99% of the songs in Hamilton at this moment. My three children and I fell in love this summer when it was released on Disney+. In middle school, I was in Show Choir, where we would travel the state and perform at various venues. Ultimately, in high school and college, I focused on sports and could not continue with my formal singing due to time constraints. Now I save my singing for the shower or rocking out in my living room with my kiddos!
What do you and your family like to do during your free time?
This pandemic has made me realize how much I loved our busy schedule! As a family of five, we play soccer and coach soccer (and sometimes still pretend they can play). I miss our weekends out on the field coaching and watching my kids play a game I have always been passionate about. On the other hand, having more “free time” on the weekends has allowed for more adventures in our beautiful state. As a family, we love hiking, chasing waterfalls, paddle boarding, and exploring all things ocean whenever we can.
Staff Spotlight: Laura Harvey
Meet Meet Mrs. Laura Harvey, Supervising Teacher and Training and Development ToSA!
Mrs. Laura Harvey is starting her second year at Compass as both a Supervising Teacher and a ToSA (Teacher of Special Assignment). Mrs. Harvey says that her “why” for being a CCS teacher is because she loves encouraging and guiding families and scholars in their homeschooling journey. It is such an exciting time for everyone involved.
One piece of advice that she would like to share with all Learning Coaches and scholars as we begin the 2020-21 school year is to be patient. Mrs. Harvey explains, “Everyone is different and learns at different rates. When someone has the ah-ha moment, it makes their patience all worth it!”
Aside from being a very proud momma to her two hockey-loving boys, Mrs. Harvey and her family are very active in the homeschool community and sports, including ice hockey, baseball, and swimming. When asked to share something the very few people know about her, she explained that she is a competitive Longarm quilter and has made quilts for the Admiral of the Coast Guard, Harley Davidson, the Alaska State Fair, and many more! Moreover, she has won ribbons for her quilt work.
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