Dear Compass Families,

As the 2021-22 school year comes to a close, I am reminded of all the incredible work Compass scholars, learning coaches, teachers, and staff have accomplished this school year! I want to extend a special congratulations to our graduating seniors, who were celebrated during our in-person and live-streamed ceremonies in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Yolo last week, June 14-16. It was a privilege to celebrate our scholars’ achievements in person!

We have many things to celebrate this school year! We celebrated Compass Charter Schools 10 year anniversary on Thursday, October 28! My blog, ‘A Word from Our Superintendent,’ featured many anniversary celebration opportunities. We reflected on our commemorative FlipGrid, hosted a social media campaign, wore Compass colors on our monthly Spirit Day, and enjoyed Panda Express during our Virtual Community Fundraiser.

There were so many achievements to celebrate this year at Compass. Compass of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Yolo were designated as Purple Star Schools by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Ascend Education named Compass as a 2022 Ascend Math Gold Medal School. And, Compass was awarded three awards, one in excellence and two in merit, from the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA).

We celebrated graduating scholars Alexys Vivian, Hannah Smith, Miavalery Alvarez Becerra, Christian Carter, KristiLynn Effie, and Lyric Hearne-Hooker, named recipients of the Loud and Proud Scholarships and the Rising Firebird scholarships for the 2021-22 school year! We also celebrated our Learning Coach of the Year Awards; congratulations to Jack Ayers Alexei, Sarah Carney, Maryse Bonniwell, Jessica Yglesias, Jennifer Simoni, and Marcie Franich for being recognized as Learning Coaches of the Year!

Congratulations to our 2021-22 Employees of the Year, Karle Roberts, Options Coordinator – Certificated Employee of the Year, and Vanessa Beyer, Outreach Coordinator – Classified Employee of the Year, for receiving this honor. And congratulations to Beth Foster, Middle School Math Teacher, for being named overall Teacher of the Year! Please join us in celebrating and thanking these exceptional individuals for all they do to support our school to ensure the Compass Experience fulfills Compass’s mission, vision, and values!

Our Board of Directors has guided our work, asking insightful questions and providing guidance and direction, all with the notion of putting our scholars first and supporting them along their educational journeys. We are also supported by a fantastic Parent Advisory Council and Scholar Leadership Council. The support of both councils and our board, combined with our scholars’ excellent work ethic, learning coaches, teachers, and staff, have made for a truly successful year!

The upcoming 2022-23 school year promises even more advancements at Compass. Many advances are coming down the pipeline, including alignment with our new Framework for the Future! I want to assure our families that our passion, integrity, and transparency will remain consistent. Our top priority has always been to provide our scholars and learning coaches with a positive, engaging, and memorable experience at Compass.

Thank you for a great year! I hope you enjoy your summer, and I look forward to welcoming scholars, families, and staff back to Compass this fall!

Forever Loud & Proud,

J.J. Lewis, Superintendent & CEO

jlewis@compasscharters.org

@lewis1jj

AVID Elective Scholars worked hard this semester on their Community Service Project for a need they found in their community. In this project, the scholars collaborated on ideas of different community needs and formulated their personal Mission Statement and “why” for the project. In addition, they used their reading, writing, and inquiry skills as they organized different components of the project, including expenses, benefits, needs, and action steps, gathered feedback, and learned how to “pitch” their ideas to others. This project incorporated all the components of WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading) and gave rigorous opportunity to use their creativity and scholar voice. Scholars shared their ideas and presentations on May 25.

A slide from Alyssa V., 8-grade scholar's, PowerPoint presentation:

8-grade scholar Avery S.'s video presentation:

A page out of Audrey M., 8-grade scholar's PowerPoint presentation:

At Compass, we recognize the importance mental health plays in scholars’ lives, their experience in school, and their future. School counselors recognize and respond to the need for mental health services that promote social/emotional wellness and development for all scholars. School counselors advocate for the mental health needs of all scholars by offering instruction that enhances awareness of mental health, appraisal, and advisement addressing academic, career, and social/emotional development; short-term counseling interventions; and referrals to community resources for long-term support.

The Counseling team continues to add additional vlogs and resources to our Compass Counseling Virtual Office. These short videos provide information in the areas of academic, social-emotional, and college/career support. We encourage you to check them out if you have not already done so!

What is your job title and job responsibilities at Compass? How long have you worked for this organization?
I am a School Counselor here at Compass. I am responsible for managing my scholars’ Academic Planning and Social/Emotional Wellness and acting as an advocate for both my scholars and families. I do this by utilizing individualized and small-group counseling and creating and delivering both academic and SEL curriculum via our weekly learning labs.

Tell us your “why” for doing what you do here at Compass.
I have always seen this stage of a young person’s life as one of the most critical and exciting parts of their life, where every choice made is an important one that can change the trajectory of their future. So, I consider it an honor and a privilege to be part of that journey with them every day.

As a counselor, is there a piece of advice you’d like to share with learning coaches or scholars?
My advice would be to take things one day at a time, and when things feel overwhelming, stay present on your journey as much as possible. Young adults experience so much personal change and growth at this time in their life, so keeping lines of communication open between not only scholars and parents but also between scholars and all stakeholders is so vital for success and a smoother ride through school.

Share one thing about you that very few people know.
One thing about me that many don’t know is that I am a foster parent.

What do you and your family like to do during your free time?
My family and I love to spend time at Knotts Berry Farm with our season passes when we get the chance, and we love heading out to Oceanside for the day to get some sun, ocean breeze, and good food.

This year was our 5th Decision Day Celebration, where we highlighted the post-high school plans of our soon-to-be graduates. Our scholars have amazing journeys ahead of them, and we couldn't be more proud!

We are wrapping up the year and celebrating the amazing engagement offerings scholars have had the opportunity to experience this year! Scholars have visited locations all over California, including Sacramento Museum Gold Rush Tour, Newport Landing Whale Watching, San Diego Zoo, Jr. Grad Bash, Fairytale Town, Color Me Mine, and Medieval Times. We are already looking forward to the exciting events coming up in the 2022-23 school year!

Scholars have continued to impress us with their many talents through our Virtual Scholar Workshops, including Discovering Mary Cassatt: Paint & Learn, Scholar Social Hours, “Purple Up!” Day Assembly, Asian Pacific Heritage Month assembly, Discover LA’s Broadway with the LA Conservancy, Jewish American Heritage Month Assembly, Discover France, and LGBTQ+ Pride Month Assembly. We are so proud of the new skills and hobbies our scholars have taken away from a successful year of virtual scholar workshops.

Our scholars have been having so much fun in scholar clubs! Our Firebird Report Club won an award for their excellent journalism skills, and we are so proud of them! In elementary, our STEM Challenge Club built multi-level bridges using cup towers and popsicle stick bridges, the Cooking Club learned how to make personal pizzas using tortillas, and our Awesome Artist Club drew dalmations! In middle and high school, Our Gardening Club learned all about pollination and shared their own gardens, Our Virtual Field Trips Club explored the top ten places to visit in Australia, and our Coding Club worked on their coding kits!

Our learning coaches have been having a great time attending our weekly live Learning Coach Academy sessions! They’ve learned some helpful Google Drive tips and tricks, how to incorporate a growth mindset into their scholars’ daily learning, and how to utilize our amazing Engagement Department offerings!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our graduating 12-Grade scholars and promoting 8-Grade scholars the week of June 13! We had 127 graduating seniors and 224 promoting 8-graders from Compass Charter Schools this year.

We celebrated our San Diego 12-graders and 8-graders on Tuesday, June 14 followed by our Los Angeles 12 and 8-graders on Tuesday, June 12, and concluded with our Fresno 12 and 8-graders on Wednesday, June 13. Our celebrations were full of smiles, encouragement, reflection, and celebration.

We are so proud of all that our scholars have accomplished this year and loved the opportunity to be loud and proud about all their achievements during our scholar celebration season! Congratulations to all of our scholars for their achievements and successes this school year!

Our scholars have achieved so much this year and we held four ceremonies during the week of June 6 to celebrate our scholars who received awards during the 2021-22 school year! Please click below to view the recordings of the virtual awards ceremonies:

• Virtual Awards Ceremony: Online Elementary

• Virtual Awards Ceremony: Online Middle School and High School

• Virtual Awards Ceremony: Options Elementary

• Virtual Awards Ceremony: Options Middle School and High School

We had such a fun time at our virtual scholar celebration ceremonies for our Kindergarteners and 5-graders on June 10! J.J. Lewis, our Superintendent & CEO, hosted the ceremonies and we acknowledged our promoting scholars! We also welcomed authors and guest speakers to each event. Barbara Hicks spoke at our Kindergarten Celebration and Trudy Ludwig spoke at our 5-Grade Culmination. Please click below to view the recordings of each ceremony:

• Virtual Kindergarten Celebration

• Virtual 5-Grade Culmination

The Department is excited to welcome Amy Foody as the new Director of Special Education! She is expected to start working on July 5, 2022.

What is your job title and job responsibilities at Compass? How long have you worked for this organization?

I am an Education Specialist. I have worked here for 3.5 months.

Tell us your “why” for doing what you do here at Compass.

I love being able to offer scholars an educational experience tailored specifically for them and meeting all of their needs.

As an educator, is there a piece of advice you’d like to share with learning coaches or scholars?

Failing is a part of life. It is the important moment when we have tried, and instead of succeeding, we learned a vital lesson. If you never try, you never get a chance to learn through your failures. Don’t ever stop trying.

Share one thing about you that very few people know.

I am a risk-taker. I love extreme sports! I have been ziplining and really want to skydive!

What do you and your family like to do during your free time?

My family goes along with my crazy adventures, which could be a day at the beach building castles, hiking up a mountain, or anything else that allows you to experience all that life has to offer.

Compass Charter Schools is a non-profit charter school. Your donation helps enhance and expand the Compass Experience for our scholars, learning coaches, and staff.

The easiest way to give is online at https://www.compasscharters.org/giving/.

If you can make a gift, the Compass family will benefit greatly.

Do not forget to check if your company will match your donation to Compass. It is an excellent way to SUPER-SIZE your donation! Thank you!

Are you enjoying the educational experience at Compass? Tell us! We want to hear from you. Why did you decide to join the Compass family? Or, what do you love most about being part of our community? Share you comments and all of your wonderful experiences at Compass with us! Click here to share.

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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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