Remember this quote from Monday’s Update? 

We’re Achieving it!  Or, as Owen would say, “For real, Compass!  For really, real life.” It’s happening! 

Thanks to our big outreach grants from Newman’s Own Foundation and Main Street Resources, we are able to help 6 schools build their own gardens, inspired by what they learn at The Compass Farm.   

With the grant funding, we’re hiring a Compass Outreach Farmer (interviews will take place this Thursday).  We already have more school’s applying than we can support – the demand is there – we’re doing this thing!  

If you know a school that’s interested in building a garden with our support, remind them that the deadline is THIS COMING MONDAY and they can find out more about the opportunity on our website: http://compassschool.org/science-engagement-center/

As you know, I’m big on making sure everyone understands the WHY of our choices at Compass, so just to recap, here are the top 5 reasons WHY we launched the Science Engagement Center at The Compass School Farm and WHY we’re so excited that it’s real – for really, real life. 

• Reason #5 – Charter Renewal: A new part of the charter renewal system (we get evaluated every 5 years) requires charter schools to demonstrate how they are sharing best practices with other schools. 

• Reason #4 –  Your Kiddo Won the Lottery: We have a pretty special thing going on at Compass, but we’re limited; only 174 students get the Compass experience each year.  By partnering with other schools, we’re paying it forward and hoping to enrich the broader educational landscape with some seeds from Compass…literally

• Reason #3 – Mission Deep Dive: We’re doing a deep dive into our mission.  Learning about the plight of the pollinators in the Lavender Labyrinth and Biodiversity gardens, understanding the gifts animals can offer, and tasting the delicious flavors of a tomato you’ve grown yourself …all of these experiences immerse our students in our environmental sustainability mission. 

• Reason #2 – It’s all part of my master plan…  Building something great and sharing it attracts big $ donors…who might then fund the barn renovation project…which helps Compass say goodbye to the modulars that we pay almost $4,000 painful dollars per month for…which lets us invest more in instructional expenses for teachers and materials…which stops Ms. Brandee’s  annual budget heart attacks.   

• Reason #1 – Our Compass Kids: If we build great programming to share with other schools…it means that our Compass kids get the benefit of using it right here at their own doorstep! Priceless. 

Above: The Compass Farm After School Program – photo credit: Rachel Axelson 

On behalf of the Compass School’s Health, Safety and Wellness committee, thank you for your ongoing support of The Science Engagement Center at The Compass School Farm! 

Thank you all for leaning in to support me and our Compass Council as we work to move our special school forward with all of this important and exciting work. 

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Compass is delighted to have received a $9,000 grant from the NRCS to install a seasonal high tunnel on our farm.  This will allow us to extend our growing season and further enrich the experiences at the Science Engagement Center at the Compass School Farm.

This structure will be different than our greenhouse where we prep seedlings in soil blocks on tables. In a high tunnel, you plant right in the ground – the covering protects the plants when the weather gets cool. 

Where will the new high tunnel go?

First, The Vision:

Ideally, the high tunnel will be placed in the area abutting the goat pen on one side and the raised beds on the other.

Next, The Reality:

We have some neighbors who notified us that they intend to speak out in opposition to our special permit for the high tunnel at our upcoming Special Permit Hearing in front of the SK Zoning Board. When our Navigators (7th/8th) heard this, they became all fired up and inspired to act.  With support from Ms. Harlyn in ELA, they are writing persuasive letters explaining why Compass should  be able to have a high tunnel even if our neighbors would prefer not to see one. We will then practice those at our Student Voice and Leadership session.  Even those who are not official members of SVL are welcome to participate if they would like to join the Compass advocacy team.  The big showdown is scheduled for:

• December 20th at 7:00
• 180 High St., Wakefield, RI 02879 

We’re first on the agenda, so it shouldn’t be too late of a night! I invite our Navigators and their families to come and use their Loud and Proud voices to read their persuasive letters to the zoning board.  I am optimistic that our student advocates will be more persuasive than our neighbors

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There are so many ways to measure a school’s success – here are a few that I use:

• The number of families beaming with pride after a project share
• The number of times kids say, “AWESOME!” when I ask them how their day was
• The number of helping parent and student hands for our many initiatives

While all of those are important measures, we are more than a strong community; we are a school. When students head off to high school after 9 years at Compass, we want to make sure that they feel well prepared to succeed in academics as well as in life. The number of students who are proficient in core skills is an important measurement to use as we gauge our success.

Each year, the RI Department of Ed offers school report cards and assigns classifications for each school. Compass is proud to have earned the highest of all rankings:”Commended” for the 3rd year in a row. Compass is one of only 9 schools in the state to have earned this highest designation for at least 3 years in a row.

Cheers to everyone for the many ways that our school shines – from the smiles to the standardized test scores; we rank among the top schools in the state. There is so much to celebrate at Compass.

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Schools across New England were challenged to compete in; Energy Reduction, Waste Reduction, Water Reduction, Innovative Green Schools Practices. A team of judges measured submitted applications on the following; overall concept, environmental impact, creativity, number of participants engaged, and how effective schools were at getting the message out. One grand prize winner receives a classroom/sustainability lab makeover from the Boston Bruins.

The Project Green Schools Director/Founder, Robin Organ, reached out to The Compass School Director, Brandee Lapisky, saying, “I am personally enamored with The Compass School and think that we have a great future of partnership and sharing best practices with the country.”

“This is an exciting milestone for Compass because it puts us on the map as an environmental sustainability leader for New England,” said Lapisky, after receiving the good news.

The award presentation is Saturday, April 1, 2017, the first day of Earth Month, during the Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers game at the TD Garden, which starts at 1:00 PM. Director Lapisky invited 2 Compass middle school students to accept the award with her on the ice. Director Lapisky, along with a group of students and parents, will also represent The Compass School at the honorary reception at the Massachusetts State House on May 19, 2017.

Added Lapisky, “This is such exciting news that just validates all of the incredible things that happen every day at Compass.  Thank you everyone: teachers, families and students, for all that you do to make our school so special.”

Since 2002, The Compass School offers a multi-age learning community that fosters a passion for learning in all students so they can reach their full potential. The school utilizes a project-based curriculum integrating academic disciplines, emphasizing social responsibility and environmental sustainability, in small classroom settings to prepare each graduate to be a responsible citizen in the global community. In 2017, the school is launching, The Compass School Farm. Once complete, The Compass School Farm will be the largest school garden in the state of Rhode Island, serving as a resource center and replication model for other schools to implement in their own settings.

The Boston Bruins Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that assists charitable organizations that demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for children throughout New England. The Foundation provides grants to organizations that meet the standards of its mission, concentrating on academics, athletics, community outreach and health. We believe that focusing and developing these four areas in children’s lives creates a solid foundation, strong support system and ultimately leads them to be an impactful member of their community.

Project Green Schools is a MA-based, leading national non-profit organization, organized for innovative Environmental Education, E-STEM Education, Leadership, and Action! Project Green Schools provides a number of environmental programs and resources to best develop the next generation of GREEN students and schools.

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Every year, the RI Department of Education recognizes the top schools in the state, naming them the “Commended Schools”. We are delighted to report that once again, The Compass School is among this elite group! We are one of only 22 Commended Schools (out of 306 total public schools) in Rhode Island.

In order to earn the Commended status, schools must:

• show increases in the school’s proficiency achievement levels on standardized tests
• demonstrate individual student growth on those tests
• prove that they are closing the achievement gap between the regular education population and sub groups like special education
• have at least 95% participation on standardized tests

Congratulations to our whole community for earning this highest praise from the Department of Education two years in a row! Here’s the press release with additional information.

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Social responsibility is a cornerstone of our charter, so it’s no surprise that Compass School kids are agents of social change by age 9. Beginning in the Explorer step (K-1st grade,) the youngest Compass students are given the opportunity to do good work by picking apples for the food pantry and learn to raise and donate money to help homeless animals. Having a project-based curriculum means that the fistfuls of change earned at home doing chores are eagerly sorted, counted and graphed into charts during math class while accounts of these good works are written in journals and told around the rug at circle time. By taking the time to teach the why and the how and letting the students examine problems and develop meaningful solutions, we are producing critical thinkers who are equipped to REALLY change the world. (Can you even imagine what interesting adults they will be some day?)

By the time our budding activists reach the Discoverer level (3rd-4th grade,) they are ripe with enthusiasm and ready to take on the Citizens Create Change project. After choosing a social problem of their own interest, each student independently researches, identifies ways to help, executes and finally creates a project representation which is revealed to the class and our community at a project share. During this time, creating change is reinforced at school as the students work collectively to raise money and awareness about hunger in our community. This is one of our school’s finest hours and a powerful turning point that lays the foundation for independent work in the middle school years.

In 2016, our Discoverers were the grateful recipients of a Rhode Island Foundation Spark Grant to support the work on their Citizens Create Change social responsibility project. These flexible grants are awarded to third grade classroom teachers with innovative ideas to “spark” a love of learning in their students. In this case, the money was used to support the Hunger Bowl, an event that raised money for the RI Community Food Bank and the Johnnycake Center.

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