Compass Public Charter School

4667 West Aviator Street

School District

Compass Charter School
Grade

K-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

charter

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 10, 2025

It used to be a good school many years ago and now education is horrible, teacher and stuff are even worse. School is a joke.
Submitted by student on June 27, 2024

I’m a student here at Compass and will proudly say that this school is the worst school ever. It is so emotionally draining because of the administration and the way that they deal with issues and bullying. They make huge deals out of unimportant issues, but don’t care about problems that need attention.The only good thing about this school is the education. The overly-strict environment is terrible and I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone, especially teens already struggling with peer pressure, self appearance, anxiety, etc. The school is overrated and everyone thinks it’s so amazing, but it’s not.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2024

If your goal is to send you kid to a school that will not care about their social-emotional well-being, then Compass is the place for you! If your kid has an IEP or 504 plan, good luck getting the school to care about them-- unless your child happens to be a stellar student with no behavior issues and gets excellent grades. If your kid wants to be called by their preferred pronouns or name, prepare for them to be bullied by other students and staff. And finally, if you want your kid to have multiple different teachers every year because teacher retention is poor, then definitely enroll your student.
Submitted by parent on March 15, 2024

Love and logic approach at this school really helps instill a great learning environment. Kids are so well behaved in classrooms, hallways, and are night and day different when you see them compared to kids in other schools when you attend field trips. We’ve gone to this school since kindergarten and kids have never been bullied or felt left behind. They always feel challenged and engaged when at school. Though this may not be a solid indicator, whenever there is a new transfer student from the nearby school districts of West Ada or Nampa, those kids struggle because Compass has taught at a consistent higher level of learning.
Submitted by parent on October 22, 2023

Do not send your children to this school. They enforce ridiculous rules, the administration and most teachers treat parents like they are idiots, and do not care about the emotional wellbeing of children. My daughter attended Compass from Kindergarten through the start of 4th grade before moving her to a different school. While there she was bullied, left out because of religious differences, and was constantly anxious trying to meet expectations. They have 10 minute breaks, too much homework at a young age, and an expectation to do 60 math problems in 60 seconds causing students intense stress. They should post a “No Fun Zone” sign on the front door.
Submitted by student on October 19, 2023

I literally love this school! The teachers care so much about your learning and what you are doing out of school. This is a great place to be. The principle really tries to make everything happen. I would totally recommend it. You can get 2-3 years of college done in high school. However, there are not many extracurricular activities. Almost everyone I know who goes to Compass is very respectful, kind, and a hard worker. 10/10 would recommend.
Submitted by parent on July 16, 2023

Classroom organized, very structured. Teachers and staff are highly engaged, the one time our kiddo reported bullying it was immediately addressed and they ensured it never repeated.
Submitted by other on June 08, 2023

A review may not be helpful, as the waiting list is quite long after the yearly public lotter for this K-12 school. Teachers here are qualified, dedicated and caring. The school has a focus on strong academics and the education of the whole student while encouraging a positive and open mindset. Students generally feel safe here and there is strong support of mental health needs. There are opportunities for involvement in a variety of clubs and sports. Those reading reviews may see that a controversial decision recently affecting the small, mostly middle school, band program has resulted in several negative reviews. Hopefully, in fairness, those reading these reviews will understand that there are often more than one side to a story, and there are many "positives" about this school beyond this one particular issue.
Submitted by parent on May 26, 2023

Socioeconomic disparity in education is alive and well at Compass. They cater to the privileged while penalizing students in working households who cannot provide endless transportation or take time off work to do in things that most schools provide in the evenings to ensure working parents can participate in their kids’ education.1.The implementation of a four-day school week makes it impossible for younger kids to attend whose parents work and can’t afford daycare.2.They schedule all open houses and parent-teacher conferences during daytime business hours, which forces parents to choose between their jobs and actively participating in their children's education. 3.Their refusal to accommodate students with special educational needs. Compass is known for having abysmal amounts special resource funding, neglecting and refusing to do IEPs, and adopting a "take it or leave it" attitude, which creates an environment that forces students with special needs to seek education elsewhere. 4.Compass eliminated their band program and made it into an after-school program that requires additional payment and provides no transportation, making music education financially exclusive and unfairly burdens families who may not have the means to pay for fees or transport their kids after school. 5.The school's bus transportation system is grossly inadequate. With a scarcity of bus stops, parents are left with no choice but to personally pick up their children from inconvenient locations. This places an undue burden on parents, especially those who work. The school should prioritize providing accessible transportation system for ALL its students.If you have an issue, don’t even bother bringing it to administration’s attention and advocating for your child. Both you AND your child become their enemy and they do everything in their power to make life so miserable and untenable for your kid at school that they beg to be transferred somewhere else.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2023

I am deeply disappointed with the way Compass Charter School has chosen to ignore student and parental pleas and deny kids the opportunity for a well rounded education by eliminating its music program. While they proudly boast about their high test scores and college readiness, they seem to have forgotten the importance of a well-rounded education that includes music and the development of social and emotional health that comes from it. Music education instills important life lessons such as discipline, teamwork, creativity, and self-expression. By removing the music program, Compass Charter School is denying its students the opportunity to develop these crucial skills and hindering their overall growth. It is disheartening to see an educational institution that places so much emphasis on academic achievement overlook the significance of a comprehensive education. While test scores may be important, they do not paint a complete picture of a student's abilities and potential. By eliminating the music program, Compass Charter School is sending a clear message that they prioritize test scores above all else. They are neglecting the needs of students who may thrive in artistic and creative pursuits. It is short-sighted and detrimental to the holistic development of their students. A well-rounded education encompasses various disciplines, including music. By providing a diverse range of opportunities, schools can nurture students' talents and interests, fostering their overall success and well-being. It is disappointing to see Compass Charter School disregard this fundamental aspect of education.To make the issue even worse, they didn’t announce the elimination of the program until 2 weeks before the end of the school year when it was too late to enroll our kids at other smaller schools of choice that value the important academic and life lessons music education provides, basically holding students hostage to a school that is choosing not to provide their needs. I cannot recommend this institution to any concerned parents or prospective students. A school that neglects the importance of music and actively denies students the opportunity to transfer to other schools of choice that offer it, is highly unethical and doesn't have the students best interest as a priority.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2023

Trudeau is a manic dictator with an incomprehensible power ego. She decimated the band program, The ONLY creative outlet for students during school, after making sure that the band instructor wasn’t paid enough to live forcing him to leave. What will they replace this art with?!? A radio station and gym ball storage. What a joke. It is unfortunate that we have people in a decision making role that will sacrifice children’s opportunities to learn arts for additional storage. The information to eliminate the last remaining art from the school came after all other school lotteries were closed so as to essentially force kids into remaining at this school or be faced with work policies. Please eliminate this horrible person from the school- reinstate blessing- and give the kids that go here an opportunity to learn how to be creative and bring joy to others. Test scores are NOT the only thing that matter. #downwithtrudeau
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2023

Administration and Board are absolutely deaf to parental concerns. 1. Moving to a 4-day school week, which unfairly penalizes working families.2. Holding Parent / Teacher conferences during "normal" business hours, which forces parents to miss work if they want to be involved with the student's education and receive feedback on their child's performance.3. Canceling their daily band instruction without parental or student feedback. They actually stated in a written email, "In general, our students have been struggling with their social & emotional health since COVID lockdowns. While we have incorporated classes to address this issue, the band students have been unable to participate in these classes due to scheduling." They don't seem to realize that the band program provides kids with healthy social and emotional outlets they need.Only send your kid here if you're comfortable with them being treated as a walking test score. At the end of the day, they only care about students MAPS and ISTAT scores, not providing kids with an opportunity for a well-rounded education.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2023

Actions speak louder than words. Compass Charter School fully demonstrated their lack of ethics in its handling of the dissolution of its band program. This was not a decision made in haste. Despite having knowledge that the current band teacher would not be returning next year (one can only assume he chose to leave because he saw this change coming), the position was never posted, revealing the school administration made the choice to dissolve the program months ago and deliberately withheld this information from students and families until 2 weeks before the end of the school year when it was too late to enroll in other schools of choice or even audition for fall/winter community music programs. It seems incomprehensible that Compass would choose to keep such a pivotal decision hidden from its students. However, they need students in seats to get funding and losing a significant portion of their student body is detrimental to their bottom line, so they decided to sacrifice their students’ opportunities and education instead. By denying students the opportunity to seek alternative school of choice options, the school has demonstrated a complete disregard for their interests, aspirations, and overall well-being. This blatant mishandling of the band program dissolution showcases a systemic failure within the school's leadership. It is evident that Compass's priorities lie elsewhere, leaving no assurance that they will prioritize their students' interests in the future.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2022

We had multiple children at Compass for six years. We enrolled because we were looking for a school that would meet the needs of advanced learners. One of our children started in kindergarten, and the others were enrolled in mid-elementary. This school was not a great experience for our family. Our children needed a gifted program, which Compass does not have and does not provide any testing for gifted children. The teachers move at a fast pace through curriculum, but they do not have time to utilize higher order thinking skills, projects, or critical thinking skills. It’s fast paced drill and kill and that is exactly the opposite of what we hoped for. We would have left this school much earlier but our children didn’t want to leave their friends. I wouldn’t recommend this school to those seeking challenge for gifted children. It also made us very sad to see other students who struggled with academics counseled out with “this isn’t a good fit.”
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2022

I would absolutely NOT recommend sending your child to this school. Everyone told us how wonderful it was so we decided to send our child there. The first year was ok because our child had an amazing teacher. However, the following year was full of bullying both by kids at the school and by the administration. Students at the school are definitely treated differently based on how well they are doing academically, with smarter kids getting away with bullying without punishment over and over. Susan Luke ignores issues going on at the school and refuses to answer direct questions and concerns brought to her about your child. The school is like a prison with no happiness and endless rules. If your child has any sort of difference or has any academic struggles, they will look for ways to push you out.
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2022

IF YOU ARE READING THIS PLEASE NOTE THAT COMPASS HAS MOVED TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION. I was just reading the reviews and I have to be honest. I'm shocked. My kids have been going here since kindergarten and I never thought about Compass this way...anyways. I think all the bad review are mainly because Compass is different and to normal kid it must be really different to them. They must think that Compass is a really strict school and has an overwhelming amount of homework and so on. That is not what I think. I think if you were to put your kid (or any kid really) in Compass (assuming that you make it in, [Compass is a lottery school] the waiting list is SO long) starting at kindergarten and ask them at 6th or 5th grade, "what do you think of Compass?" they would say that it is okay of good or great (unless they really hated school), but if you were to ask a kid just transferred to Compass that year and was used to a public school they'd probably say the opposite to to what the other kid would say. I think that's normal and the bad review are most likely people that are used to really low profile schools. What people are saying about the teachers is probably that at public school students get more of a connection with their teacher than at Compass and the way Compass does is different and that's okay. So over all I recommend Compass and it would be best if you put your kid in when they are younger.
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2022

I was a student at this school for quite some time, and my experience is nothing short of terrible. The schools subjects are bland and boring, I felt no motivation to get my work done. The teachers showed no respect and filmed me without permission, and also gave an unreasonable amount of work. I signed my self up for easy elective classes so I can start highschool without much problems, but the teacher for one of them was complaing about teaching the freshman, and I was eventually kicked out of both classes and were given much harder ones that I was not ready for. I was beginning to develop depression and other mental health problems and the school refused to help in any way. Even when my mom tried to confront the school about these issues they refused. I was having so many problems with them that they expelled me. I feel like the expulsion was unrightfull and they most likely did it to keep their reputation a good one. I was shocked at the way they handled, but truthfully when they gave me the notice on Christmas while we were on break, I was actually happy I didn't have to go back. Good riddance!
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2022

This school is absolutely horrific, kids are being bullied and the bullies never get punished at all. I was always alone and depressed because of this school, the school gave too much work and not enough time to work on it.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2021

No don’t do it. Trust me I’m helping you.
Submitted by other on April 07, 2021

I feel this school was not great like some people say. The problem starts with the administration, but even some of the teachers don't really care. Personally, I got in trouble at this school and now I feel like I am walking on eggshells. I have been told one time I was talking after getting suspended that I could've gotten expelled for this. I am very stressed out because of this school and plan on leaving soon I definitely do recommend this. The homework can be too much and if you get behind a little bit on schoolwork it will take a lot to get back caught up as they keep throwing assignments at you. I was absent for 2 days and was behind on some of my classes when I began to work on them I started to notice more and more assignments that were due which made it really hard for me to feel motivated. Overall this school has me feel burnout and unmotivated to do schoolwork I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL