A Word From Our CEO: Transparency Accountability Matters in Education

Hello Scholars and Families!

It’s the first week of April! The flowers are blooming, the weather's getting warmer, and it’s time for another monthly check-in.

I’d like to start this month off by discussing the importance of transparency and accountability in education. In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed some media attention around reported cases of misconduct and unethical processes in a few of California’s public schools, specifically public charter schools.

Charter schools play a critical role in strengthening the quality of education across the country. They offer scholars the opportunity to choose a personalized learning experience to achieve academic success. Charter schools have certain freedoms, which in California is often referred to as the Mega Waiver, which allows us to offer scholars more innovative learning experiences. It’s critical that charter schools are led responsibly by leaders who use these freedoms strategically and wisely to benefit scholars and their families.

Given our unique freedoms, charter schools must take a different approach to providing transparency and accountability to succeed as educational alternatives. In recent news, there have been a few California charter schools reported for financial misconduct. This is significant because charter schools are public entities that receive government funding, and the public holds charter schools accountable for using their funding responsibly.

Compass Charter Schools are taking the proper steps to ensure ethical and transparent practices by our staff to best support our scholars and their families. This is why we started hosting Parent Town Hall Meetings this year. Each meeting includes a question and answer session, which allows participants to ask questions and receive answers directly from me. We also host monthly CEO Town Halls with our staff, which is another opportunity to share updates and engage in meaningful dialogue.

Since becoming the CEO, I have worked with our Board Chair to ensure that our Board of Directors have all the information they need to take action on our posted agenda. The information is readily available for the public to review, not just members of the Board. The Board has also formed Board Committees, which meet monthly or bi-monthly, depending on their charge. As with the full Board of Directors, each of these committees have posted agenda’s, which are readily available for public review. The information is easy to access; take a look: Board Portal.  

Lastly, Compass Charter Schools is proud to have joined a handful of other charter schools who firmly believe in being accountable and transparent with the public. We stand united in our efforts to operate schools that model strong integrity, value and utilize solid business practices. The pledge is much more than accountability and transparency, though. It is our unwavering commitment to offer an educational program which meets the unique needs of the diverse scholars we serve. Visit our site read the full pledge: Excellence Pledge.

I will continue to lead Compass Charter Schools by being open and honest with our scholars, our families, our staff, and the community. And I welcome feedback from our stakeholders on ways we can continue to enhance not only the educational experiences we provide but our attempts to be totally transparent in all of our operations!