Happy Goat Day!

Our new goats, Kevin and Sierra moved into their new home at The Compass Farm today!

I am at a conference today, so I missed the arrival of our Compass goats.  I asked Ms. Julie to send me a picture and while I was in the middle of a workshop on report cards, the picture above popped up on my phone.  I gasped, smiled, then got downright misty…to the point that the other superintendents sitting around my conference table asked, “Ummm…Brandee…is everything okay?”

It is so much more than okay, it’s downright spectacular.  While I think these goats are just about the most adorable critters I’ve ever seen, that’s not why I had such a strong reaction.

Student-centered learning is at the heart of our school; while we are not perfect, there are moments like this one that take my breath away.  I remember last October’s brainstorm with the Investigator (5th/6th) Student Voice and Leadership group when they pleaded to bring goats to the farm that did not yet exist.  I remember the Navigators (7th/8th) digging holes for the posts of the goats’ fence.  I look at the picture of students putting the finishing touches on the shed independently earlier this week so that I could remember their sense of purpose, their engagement, their pride.

A special thank you goes out to Ms. Harlyn, the champion of the goat project (a Navigator elective course) 🙂

Compass is a special place, but not because we have goats.  The power is in the process that got them here.  We asked the students what they envisioned, we helped them create an action plan to make their dream possible, and we wrapped the supports around them that they would need to be successful. The Compass School experience is not about the students, or the director, or the teachers, or the families…it’s about ALL of US, working together to make the magic possible.