Head of School Welcome
Doug Killin
Head of school
Hello and Welcome to Compass!
Compass High School offers a strength-based approach to supporting students’ growth in all dimensions of learning and identity. Compass was founded by parents seeking a unique way to educate their children. They sought an approach that would recognize the strengths and potential in their students while also accommodating their neurodivergence and learner variability. Compass was founded on the principle of building a school by and for neurodivergent individuals.
At Compass, we truly seek to unveil every student’s authentic self. We see students for who they are and foster growth by leveraging their individual strengths while supporting them through their challenges. We know it is our responsibility to meet students where they are, not their responsibility to adjust to untaught expectations.
We are dedicated to explicitly teaching skills that foster confidence and enable students to take risks. We teach resilience, ensuring students can bounce back from mistakes and we inspire true independence, empowering students to continue learning and growing throughout their lives.
Our students tell us they feel safe and at home at Compass–and they are at the center of all that we do. Please explore our website and feel free to reach out and learn what makes Compass High School a collaborative, supportive, college prep program for students who learn differently and how your student could thrive here.
About Doug
Doug Killin comes to Compass with an exceptional background teaching and leading organizations for students with learning differences. Most recently, he was Director of the Middle School at Charles Armstrong. In this role, he oversaw teacher development, student discipline, parent communication, curriculum development and counseling programs.
Prior to Charles Armstrong, Doug served in roles such as Dean of Students, Assistant Head of School and has close to 20 years of classroom teaching experience. He has worked in both mainstream education as well as schools focusing on students that learn in untraditional ways. While most of his teaching experience took place in California, he also worked at Landmark College in Vermont after receiving his Bachelor’s degree.
Doug holds a Master of Arts in Education from University of San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a focus on learning psychology from Keene State College. He pursued a course work in clinical psychology at San Jose State and completed a program in Educational Therapy through Cal Berkeley. Over his career he has received recognition for his teaching including be named as a San Jose Distinguished Teachers in San Jose Magazine, and a John Hopkins recognition award. He has presented on Dyslexia in many venues including Harvard University.
Doug is excited to be taking on the role of Head of School at Compass High School and we look forward to the next chapter in the school’s history.