Personalized individual attention. Building relationships with scholars and learning coaches. Meaningful learning opportunities. We gather these gems from Ms. Kari Watt, an elementary teacher of six years at Compass’ Online Learning Program (Compass Online).
We are a free public online school for scholars K-12 in Los Angeles, San Diego, Yolo, and surrounding counties. Thanks to teachers like Ms. Watt, Compass Online can celebrate over 10 years as The Gold Standard in Virtual Education. Whether you are a scholar, learning coach, or educator, we believe you will find her story worthwhile. Enjoy.
What experiences prepared you for teaching at Compass Online?
“When I first started teaching, I taught 1st and 5th grade in a brick-and-mortar classroom. I then took a job as a high school teacher at an independent study charter school. Having experience in both elementary and secondary deepened my understanding of content across grade levels. It also helped me develop a clearer picture of what skills elementary scholars need as they move into high school. While teaching high school, I was helping to write the ELA and social studies curriculum. Unpacking standards, creating lessons, writing final exams, creating projects, and expanding my technology skills are just a few of the experiences that prepared me for my role at Compass Online.”
Online Learning vs. Brick & Mortar
“The benefit to teaching online versus brick and mortar is flexibility. When you are teaching at a brick and mortar, the entire day is the same routine and schedule for the most part. Classroom teachers in a brick and mortar work very hard, but it is extremely difficult to meet all scholars’ needs and stay on pace with the curriculum; not to mention all of the other assigned duties outside of the classroom. As an online teacher, I am able to truly personalize my scholar’s school year and provide support to each family/scholar individually. As an online teacher, I feel like I am able to build relationships with my scholars and their families in a way that I couldn’t at a brick and mortar.”
What attracted you to Compass Online?
“I had a friend who worked at Compass Online that shared her experience, and it sounded like a good fit for me. Compass Online works to provide the best educational experience for scholars and has always kept a focus on personalized instruction.”
Mission & Vision
The Compass Online mission is “To inspire and develop innovative, creative, self-directed learners, one scholar at a time.” What does this mean to you specifically?
“The mission to me is a focus on personalized instruction. Meeting a scholar where they are, surrounding a scholar and their family with support, and also providing meaningful learning opportunities that result in an inspired, creative, independent learner.”
Why Compass Online?
“I would say because of the support and relationships that we build with not only the scholar, but the learning coach too. It can be overwhelming to take on the role of learning coach and have scholars at home for school, but at Compass Online, we work hard to make sure that they have all the support they need to be successful.”
Thank you, Ms. Watt! We appreciate your six years of teaching with us and your strong advocacy for our school. It’s because of incredible educators like you that we can truly provide The Gold Standard in Virtual Education.
Are you looking for a school that is “…providing meaningful learning opportunities that result in an inspired, creative, independent learner.”? Compass’ Online Learning Program is free, public, and available for students K-12 in Los Angeles, San Diego, Yolo, and surrounding counties. We would be honored to give you a virtual shadow of our virtual education experience so you can feel confident that we truly are the experts in online learning. We’re fired up for a new year, and we’re Loud & Proud about it. Discover Compass Online- we’re enrolling today!
About Compass
Compass Charter Schools’ Online Learning Program (Compass Online) celebrates 10 years as the Gold Standard in Virtual Education. Serving thousands of online scholars throughout California, we support each K-12 scholar and learning coach with in-house counselors, talented accredited teachers, and a staff of excellence. As the only Purple Star School in California and one of the few online AVID programs in the nation, Compass Online is beyond unique and impressive. Rise and Soar with our Firebirds – Enroll today!