Compass Speaks: The Class With No Limits
Compass Speaks is a program Western Reserve Academy offers for 11th and 12th grade students. The Compass program inspires tenacity, creativity and initiative. Students in the program identify a problem that needs solving; they can explore something they’re passionate about that doesn’t fit a traditional curriculum. The teachers of the Compass program, Dr. Borrmann and Mrs. Lopez, provide a classroom environment unlike no other, with the time and support each student needs to be successful.
The Compass program is the intersection between something students enjoy and something that will benefit the community. Students have the freedom to share their projects creatively. Compass students have made incredible achievements such as writing a children’s book, making websites, making podcasts, creating board games and more. Compass is not just a class to gain credit but an experience to gain lifelong skills.
Students collaborate, critique and help each other to improve their work. Dr. Borrmann, states, “This is unlike any class at WRA because we collaborate and use each other’s expertise to make every project better, we learn to work together and give and receive feedback.” Within the class, students trust and learn from one another; they give each other honest, beneficial and constructive feedback. When asking Dr. Borrmann what opportunities Compass offers students, he answers with, “They gain professional skills that will serve them in college and beyond. Skills that will help them when seeking employment; skills that will help them in their professional life.” Mrs. Lopez states, “It’s a course where they learn a lot about themselves and their own learning and working styles that will help them beyond WRA.”
On March 1st and 2nd, the Compass Speaks event will take place, and the students will present their projects. Come by to see the profound work of students in the Compass program.
– Arterina Bailey ’26
The Reserve Record 