Our Approach
The Compass School of Texas offers a strong core curriculum for each grade with a unique blend of the Reggio Emilia philosophy and project-based learning. Reggio Emilia is a child-centered approach to learning that finds the profound potential in every student. We define child-centered as valuing and respecting children’s thoughts, inquiries, and ideas. Teachers plan and design lessons by providing multiple lenses for each topic and guiding students to explore with creativity and imagination. Each student will have the opportunity to work in collaborative small groups with pedagogies and learning specialists to gain true comprehension of topics and high level thinking. The Reggio Emilia philosophy makes learning visual by documenting the educational journey and bringing families into the process of learning. We believe that analytical thinking is at the core of learning so we completely involve students in analyzing stories, solving problems, and hypothesizing the outcome of experiments.
Language Arts
The Compass Language Arts program combines the essential and interconnected parts of language development: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The students’ day will begin with a unique provocation to spark learning and curiosity. Students will use the provocations to share new ideas and engage in peer conversation to learn and ask questions. Our program fully embraces the five pillars of literacy - phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension. Students will engage daily in a structured phonics program that combines learning isolated sounds with memorizing high-frequency words. We believe that phonics is the essential pathway for students to become successful readers, spellers and writers.
Mathematics
Compass believes in a conceptual approach to teaching mathematics. Conceptual learning in mathematics focuses on teaching math by uncovering and understanding why and how math works rather than telling students to memorize isolated facts and formulas. On a daily basis, students will problem solve, develop sound reasoning, and communicate their mathematical thinking in written and oral forms. Students will make connections between mathematical ideas and real-life experiences. Students will work with various natural materials to bring concepts to life and deepen their understanding. By making connections between mathematical ideas and real-life experiences, the learning experience will go beyond the classroom and inspire deeper thinking about how math impacts the world around them.
Humanities
Students are encouraged to do the intellectual work of historians to unlock the knowledge of global eras and events through the process of inquiry. By determining the meaning of an important idea or question for themselves, they are preparing to be active, engaged citizens. Students will recognize the significance of historical occurrences, understand cause and effect, and synthesize information. Students learn from the past to understand the present through studying cultures, continents, geographies, geologies, people and patterns.
Sciences & Nature Studies
The focus of the Compass science program incorporates hands-on exploration. Students take on the role of the scientist to plan and carry out investigations, solve problems, analyze and interpret data, construct explanations, and design solutions. These opportunities allow students to build fundamental concepts over time. Students will develop an appreciation for the natural world and the connections within it.
Foreign Languages
The study of Spanish is an integral part of the Compass curriculum. We believe that students learn through immersion. By learning to speak a new language, Compass students open windows into other people and cultures.
Farm-to-Table & Ecospaces
Compass seeks to give students the tools and skills to lead healthy and environmentally productive lives. Students will learn about food and sustainability through interactive learning. Specifically, students learn how food is grown, nurtured, harvested, cooked, and served.