A Word From Our CEO: It's Time to Celebrate!

It’s May! Is it just me, or has this year been flying by? I suppose that’s what happens when you have so many wonderful things happening. April was a busy month for Compass and things are not slowing down anytime soon. We have a lot to celebrate throughout the month of May!

First, please join the Compass staff and I this week to celebrate National Charter Schools Week. We’ll be sharing important facts about charter schools and the positive impact they have on so many families across the country, and right here in California through our school. According to a 2016 nationally representative survey from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, parental support for charter schools is strong. In fact, 80 percent of parents of school-aged children support allowing parents to choose which public schools their child should attend. Also, the report showed that more than 70 percent of parents favor having a charter school open in their neighborhood. According to one of our surveys, 93 percent of our scholars and families believe we are committed to their success, and I can assure every scholar and parent, we are.

I invite you to join the National Charter Schools Week celebration by sharing pictures and videos with us, using #CharterSchoolsWeek. Please share why you enjoy being part of Compass Charter Schools!

Our next major celebration is when we celebrate our wonderful teachers, during National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8-12. Our 54 teachers dedicate countless hours to supporting our scholars and their families, and it’s time to celebrate them! We will be honoring California Day of the Teacher on Wednesday, May 10 and hosting a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, May 11. We invite our scholars to send thank-you letters to their teachers, and join us on social media throughout the week, using #ThankATeacher, to share their favorite memories about their teachers.

Our final major celebration is when we celebrate our amazing staff, during Classified School Employees Week, May 21-27.  The theme is “Everyday Heros” and I could not agree more, our staff, including those we have recognized earlier this month (teachers) and earlier this year (counselor) are our heros.  We invite scholars to join us on social media throughout the week, using #CSEW2017, to share your favorite memories about the staff who have been your hero.

As we celebrate National Charter Schools Week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, California Day of the Teacher, and Classified School Employees Week, I also invite you to join me in giving back to Compass.  In March, we launched our Annual Fund to increase and enhance our engagement opportunities for our scholars.  I have started my ongoing, monthly gift to Compass and would like to personally ask our community to join me in giving back as we celebrate throughout this month of May.  Join me with either a one-time or monthly gift to help Compass serve our scholars!

This year Compass has made some incredible changes to improve our programs and continues to move onward to better support our scholars and their families.  I would love to hear from you and encourage all of our stakeholders (scholars, learning coaches, staff and community) to complete our 2017 Planning Survey.  I also invite you to share feedback with us through the suggestion boxes on our homepage, or directly with me. I am truly thankful to the teachers, staff, scholars and families who dedicate their time and resources to make Compass Charter Schools a great success. This month is a time to recognize all of our hard work, so let’s celebrate!