WESTMINSTER — Compass School was once again awarded the maximum five-year re-approval by the Vermont Board of Education during its Sept. 19 meeting.
The vote was unanimous in favor of re-approval. It allows the private school, which serves students in grades 7-12, to remain eligible to receive state education funding, including publicly-funded tuition dollars.
Compass underwent a review by the Education Board after it was discovered earlier this year that the school had failed to file its Form 990, a key document for maintaining nonprofit status with the IRS, for three years.
As a result, according a report by VTDigger.org, the school briefly lost its nonprofit status with the IRS. After the school filed the missing paperwork, it was reinstated.
Since the initial news reports, Compass has recruited new board members, tightened up its financial reporting procedures, and is starting to prepare a strategic plan.
The changes that the Education Board saw were sufficient for Compass to get a favorable review.
“Since the school's inception, we have received the highest praise and maximum approval allowable from the Agency of Education,” said School Director Rick Gordon in a news release. “The thorough look at all elements of the Compass program continues to affirm the value of our educational program and our adherence to procedures and policies meeting all state requirements.”
Gordon said the state approval process involves a site visit and review for general education and another site visit and review for special education.
In both cases, Gordon said the reviewers praised Compass for many things. According to Gordon, the general education reviewer emailed afterwards to say his visit was “inspiring,” and the special education review team complimented Compass for how it proactively considered accessibility issues and differentiated learning for every student.