Compass Rose Public Schools is a growing network of charter schools that offers rigorous education with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and technology. On November 1, 2019, Compass Rose Public Schools began accepting applications for enrollment for the 2020–2021 school year. We have put together a guide to help you learn more about Compass Rose Academy San Antonio schools and take steps to enroll your child for the next school year.
Artículo en español—Post in Spanish
About Compass Rose Academy San Antonio Schools
Since its founding here in San Antonio in 2017, Compass Rose Public Schools has focused on helping students learn problem solving and develop their creativity. Students receive a rigorous college preparatory education, while also learning entrepreneurship and STEM skills like coding and marketing.
We recently visited Compass Rose Legacy, located on the southeast side of San Antonio at Brooks, and spoke with Deniece Rivera, Director of Enrollment, and Jaime Mora, Persistence and Enrollment Manager, to learn more.
Compass Rose Public Schools is expanding in 2020, and while they will share a common academic program, each campus will have a different specialization. The founding campus, Compass Rose Legacy, will continue its focus on entrepreneurship. In middle school, students learn computer skills and study coding and building websites. In high school, students take courses in entrepreneurship, including how to create a business model, how to persuade others to believe in that business model, and how to live it out.
At Compass Rose Ingenuity, opening in 2020 on the southwest side of San Antonio at Port San Antonio, the curriculum will make direct connections to real world work in the 21st century. Drawing on expertise in the Port San Antonio area, students will learn about cybersecurity, aerospace, and engineering. Younger students will learn about possible careers and go through a vision casting process to think about their own futures. Older students will use tools like StrengthsFinder and meet with advisors to plan their career paths.
Compass Rose Legacy is also expanding. When the school opened in 2017, it served students in grades 6–7. The school has grown year by year, and in 2019–20 it serves grades 6–9. In 2020, the higher grades will move to a new campus down the road, at 3300 Sidney Brooks, San Antonio, TX 78235 (map). That will free up space in the current building at 8005 Outer Circle Rd., San Antonio, TX 78235 (map) for elementary grades. In 2020–21, Compass Rose Legacy will add grades K–2, as well as a new 5th grade class. This brings the school closer to its goal of eventually serving grades K–12. The purpose of expanding the offerings to younger students is to reach students earlier and help them and their families raise their expectations of what is possible.
The academic curriculum is supplemented by an advisory period that provides students with one-on-one support. Students learn character development as well as organization and study skills. Free tutoring is available after school.
For middle school students, learning interventions are targeted and personalized. For 6th and 8th graders, there is time built in to the schedule at the end of each day for math intervention. The Assistant Principals of Instruction look at the data regularly and group students based on their needs for that unit; those groups get personalized instruction during the intervention period, and the groups keep changing based on need. Likewise, 7th grade students get extra support on reading comprehension and writing.
Compass Rose offers college counseling to high school students. Ninth grade students start taking a college readiness course. High school students have access to dual credit classes through St. Philip’s College.
Compass Rose Public Schools is one of the few charter school networks in San Antonio that offers free transportation to students. Each campus has about ten bus stops that are located near clusters of families.
To read more about Compass Rose Public Schools in the news, we recommend that you click on the articles linked at the bottom of this post. Also, we invite you to join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook and ask questions; the group includes current Compass Rose families who can comment with answers based on their own experiences.
Compass Rose Public Schools in San Antonio
In 2020–21, Compass Rose Public Schools will have two schools in the San Antonio region. On the district’s most recent school report card, they earned a B rating. The list below includes links to each campus’s school report cards. It’s notable that Compass Rose Legacy earned six out of seven possible distinctions on its most recent school report card.
- Compass Rose Legacy: 8005 Outer Circle Rd., San Antonio, TX 78235 (at Brooks; map) grades K–2; 3300 Sidney Brooks, San Antonio, TX 78235 (map) for grades 5–10; 210-540-9265; grades K–2 & 5–10 in 2020–21, expanding to K–12; school report card—rated B
- Compass Rose Ingenuity: 500 Billy Mitchell Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78226 (at Port San Antonio; map); grades K–2 & 5–6 in 2020–21, expanding to K–12
Download the free San Antonio Charter Schools app for an interactive map that includes these campuses and many more. You can also find campus information about Compass Rose Public Schools (and many other schools of choice) on our page Guide to Charter Schools in San Antonio.
Enroll at Compass Rose Public Schools
Families can apply online to enroll their children at Compass Rose Public Schools. Open enrollment for 2020–2021 began on November 1, 2019 and will continue through February 20, 2020. On February 21, 2020, Compass Rose Public Schools will hold a random lottery. Students who are selected will receive an email inviting them to register; the remaining students will be placed on waiting lists, and will be notified if a spot becomes available. More information is available in this FAQ.
At the Compass Rose website, a chat window pops up, inviting visitors to send a message, make a call, or schedule a call. Using that window or calling the school at 210-540-9265 is the best way to get information about the school, set up a tour, or ask questions about how enrollment works. Families may also fill out the online request for information form.
We also recommend following Compass Rose Public Schools social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
In addition, please join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook to post questions and search previous discussions about Compass Rose Public Schools.
Facts About Compass Rose Public Schools
Compass Rose Legacy has a vibrant school culture with high levels of involvement from students and parents. A peek at the school newsletter gives a sense of the activities and events, like games and festivals, that happen throughout the year. The newsletters also include ongoing communication from counselors about getting ready for college.
College field lessons are opportunities for students to visit college campuses, talk with current college students, and envision themselves as college students. During the 2019–20 school year, the 8th and 9th grade students traveled to Houston to visit Rice University and NASA; soon, 6th and 7th grade students will visit UTSA. In the past, students have also visited Texas A&M University San Antonio. In the future, high school students may travel to the east coast to visit colleges. College field lessons give students a sense of what college is like and helps them to see college as part of their future.
As students advance from 8th to 9th grade, they experience a bridging ceremony. This rite of passage will be marked with a pin that represents their progress to high school.
Compass Rose Legacy has extracurricular activities for students, including a mariachi ensemble, yearbook, and drama club. The school also currently offers these sports:
- High School Contact Football
- Middle School Flag Football
- HS & MS Girls Volleyball
- HS & MS Girls and Boys Basketball
- HS & MS Girls and Boys Soccer
- HS & MS Girls and Boys Track
- HS & MS Girls and Boys Cross Country
The school added tackle football for high school students in response to surveys from showing a high level of interest. That survey is one of many examples of student voice making a difference on campus.
When hiring teachers, Compass Rose has a process that involves feedback from students and parents. Each prospective teacher presents a demo lesson in front of current faculty, teachers, and students. After the candidate steps out, the students and their parents share their praise and critiques. The school takes that information into account when making hiring decisions. Teachers like Michael Osikoya have been recognized for their dedication to their students.
Students take ownership of their learning. At quarterly student-led conferences, held in groups the cafeteria and large classrooms, each student brings a binder of their work to a meeting with their teachers. There is a discussion between the student and teachers about each grade and the coursework that led to each grade. Parents can listen in and ask questions of the teachers. The process of student-led conferences helps students to grow, invites parents to ask questions and learn what’s behind each grade, and encourages students and families to raise their expectations of what’s possible.
Compass Rose Public Schools is a partner of Choose to Succeed, a nonprofit organization working to attract the nation’s best public charter schools to San Antonio.
BES (formerly known as Building Excellent Schools) helped launch Compass Rose—founder Paul Morrissey was a 2015 BES Fellow.
City Education Partners is supporting the growth of Compass Rose Ingenuity by including future Compass Rose Ingenuity principal Ydette Avina as a fellow in CEP’s school incubator program.
Read More About Compass Rose Academy San Antonio Schools
- “26 Schools Chosen as Spark Opportunity Grant Winners,” Walton Family Foundation, January 27, 2020
- “From oil fields to the classroom, SA teacher making a big difference,” David Norris, FOX San Antonio, September 25, 2019
- “A Journey from the Oil Fields to the Classroom,” Brandon Zeigler, Walton Family Foundation, July 2, 2019
- “Parents Are Part of the Teacher Hiring Process at Compass Rose Academy,” Inga Cotton, San Antonio Charter Moms, February 15, 2019
- “South Side School Choice Fair at Compass Rose Academy,” Inga Cotton, San Antonio Charter Moms, March 20, 2018
- “Meet the Teacher Night at Compass Rose Academy in San Antonio,” Inga Cotton, San Antonio Charter Moms, August 21, 2020
- “Compass Rose Academy Sets Course for Southeast SA,” Bekah McNeel, Rivard Report, August 8, 2017
- “Different Backgrounds, Same Long Charter Wait List Brings Texas Parents Together to Fight for More Schools,” Beth Hawkins, 74 Million, February 12, 2017
- “Compass Rose Academy Information Session on October 22,” Inga Cotton, San Antonio Charter Moms, October 18, 2015
