Teachers are the starting point of every Compass journey.
Compass partners with educators who see the spark of potential in their students and want to help it grow. We provide resources, mentorship connections, and classroom tools that make it easier to guide students toward college and career opportunities. Together, we create a support system that turns curiosity into confidence and helps rural students see how far their talents can take them.
A compass has four cardinal directions. Here are ours.
Our work is guided by four core pillars that shape everything we do: empowering students, supporting teachers, connecting communities, and expanding opportunity. Together, they keep Compass focused on helping young people move forward with confidence and purpose.
Community
Our north star, rooted in connection, belonging, and shared responsibility.
Learning
The sunrise value: education as growth, self-knowledge, and transformation.
Mobility
The path forward into college, careers, and life opportunities.
Leadership
Grounded practice in humility, courage, and service.
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Community
We take Community as our north star—the value and experience that sparked Compass’s creation and continues to guide our growth. Rural America is often mischaracterized by deficit, but we see its truest strength: a deeply ingrained sense of shared connection, responsibility, and compassion.
The Compass curriculum is designed to ignite that local spirit and nurture it through service, solidarity, and support. Our Scholars are not only shaped by their communities but poised to serve and transform them. With community at their backs and in their hearts, our Scholars are more than recipients of rural opportunity—they are its fiercest advocates.
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Learning
Learning is our sunrise value—the light that clarifies and energizes the path ahead. For Compass, learning is not confined to test scores or textbooks; it is personal, political, and liberatory. For many rural students, high-quality education has been a historically gate-kept privilege.
At Compass, we treat Learning as a practice of reclamation and radical self-knowledge. Through rigorous workshops, intimate mentorship, and reflective exercises, we encourage our Scholars to see knowledge as a tool for transformation rather than merely a means to a degree. Learning in this context is a sustained act of growth—and an intentional act of breaking down barriers.
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Mobility
Paired with Learning, our western pillar is Mobility: the pull forward into new geographies, new ideas, and new possibilities. While deeply embedded in the soil of rural towns, Compass also clears paths forward.
We equip our Scholars with resources and support to move confidently into the future, whether that means a four-year university, technical school, military service, or a meaningful early career. We demystify the admissions process, provide financial aid guidance, and award transition stipends. Most importantly, we walk with our Scholars, ensuring that Mobility is never a movement in isolation, but a shared journey.
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Leadership
Leadership is our grounding force as the southern anchor. To us, leadership is not a title; it is a daily practice. Leadership is forged in the continual exercise of humility, courage, and service. Embedded in the Compass experience are opportunities to make decisions, tell one’s story, guide others, and imagine bold possibilities.
From public speaking to peer mentorship, from service projects to college planning, we teach that true leadership uplifts rather than dominates. Our Scholars are taught to lead from within and among—not above. They stand in a tradition of rural care and conviction that is too often overlooked but endlessly vital.
The Compass curriculum turns mentorship into meaningful classroom connection.
Developed by educators and community leaders, our five-semester curriculum helps students explore identity, leadership, and postsecondary readiness through hands-on lessons and guided reflection. Each unit is flexible and teacher-friendly, designed to complement your existing work while deepening relationships with students. The goal is simple: to help teachers spark confidence, curiosity, and direction in every Scholar they serve.
1
Foundations of Community
Students discover who they are, where they come from, and how their stories connect to the people around them.
2
Learning in Motion
Students strengthen academic confidence through skill-building and goal-setting that make learning feel purposeful.
3
Service and Storytelling
Students use their skills to give back through projects that serve their communities and share their personal stories.
4
Leadership in Practice
Students step into leadership roles and learn how to use their strengths to guide others.
5
Pathways Forward
Students prepare for what comes next, building practical skills for college, careers, and life beyond school.
Bring Compass to Your School
Every new Compass chapter begins with an educator who believes in what students can achieve. If your school does not yet have Compass, you can help make it happen. As a founding teacher, you will receive training, resources, and ongoing support to build a program that empowers your students and strengthens your community. Reach out to learn how to start Compass at your school and become part of a growing network of educators guiding the next generation forward.