Every child deserves to grow as a reader, and at Compass Community Schools, Memphis teachers are proving what’s possible when educators get the training and support they need.
Compass Community Schools and MTR are partnering on the North Star Project, a four-year initiative to strengthen literacy instruction for students in kindergarten through third grade. The North Star Project invests in teacher training, literacy coaching and additional learning opportunities to help every child grow as a reader. The goal is simple: 90% of Compass students reading on grade level by the end of third grade by 2030.
It Starts With Teachers
At the heart of the North Star Project is a belief Teach901 shares: great teaching changes lives. Compass Founder and Executive Director Kristi Baird told WREG that the work centers on training teachers in the science of reading, so they can meet the needs of each individual child.
Through the partnership, students benefit from highly trained Science of Reading teachers, dedicated literacy coaching, small-group instruction, and increased and individualized support.
MTR Executive Director Megan Salemi explained that the training meets teachers right in the classroom, building their content knowledge, helping them integrate curriculum effectively and aligning that curriculum across teaching spaces. MTR coaches follow up with teachers regularly to close the loop between theory and practice. As Salemi put it, “Pro athletes have coaches; teachers should too.”
The Results Are Already Here
Compass Orange Mound has used this approach since 2023, beginning as a pilot with kindergarteners. Kindergarten literacy proficiency has grown from 33% before implementation to 77% in Year 2, with current projections approaching 90%.
The momentum continued when Compass and MTR trained all of their first-grade teachers in the science of reading. According to Baird, between 60 and 87% of first graders, depending on the class, finished the year reading on level. Seeing those gains, Compass decided to take the model to scale, and the North Star Project is now in place at all five of its elementary campuses.
Memphis Classrooms in the Spotlight
The North Star Project was inspired in part by the Moonshot literacy model in the School District of Indian River County in Florida, which Compass leaders visited earlier this year. This month, the learning went both ways. Education leaders from Indian River and The Learning Alliance traveled to Memphis to see the North Star Project in action at Compass Berclair.
Alongside representatives from Compass and MTR, the Florida delegation toured the school, participated in instructional rounds, visited classrooms, and looked at literacy instruction and student data firsthand. It was a proud moment for Memphis: our teachers’ work serving as a model for educators from across the country.
Learn more about Compass Community Schools and Memphis Teacher Residency. Read WREG’s original coverage by Quametra Wilborn at wreg.com.