Become a certified
Compass Circle Facilitator
in 1 year
Schools that participate in this 1-year certification course will select 3 or more faculty members to become certified Compass Circle Facilitators for either students or adults. Through a hybrid of in-person and online training sessions, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with a cohort of schools to share in your collective growth. And like all of our programming, you will find space to connect with like-minded educators who also want to prioritize a practice that promotes authentic connection and well-being in a safe, nurturing space.
Program Overview
Our Circle Facilitator Course is a 1-year certification course for schools that are interested in implementing a simplified version of our Compass Circles on a small scale. Unlike our 3-year Compass Camp Partnership* program, this course is not a train-the-trainer model for full-scale implementation of Compass Circles at your school. Instead, this program allows us to directly train the few individuals who will be facilitating Circles at your school, and to support high quality implementation of a complex and powerful practice on a small scale. While not appropriate for school-wide implementation, we strongly encourage you to select up to 3 individuals who will be facilitating Circles in order to create opportunities for support and feedback within your school.
Class of 2026 kicks off May 16, 2025!
What does participation in the course look like?
Spring Kickoff Once registered, the 3 individuals participating in the course will begin with our virtual Kickoff on May 16, where they will meet their cohort peers, internalize the syllabus, and begin to craft their plan for Compass Circle facilitation in the upcoming school year.
Circle Facilitation Within the first 6 weeks of the 25-26 school year, course participants will be responsible for launching their own Compass Circle with a dedicated group of students or adults, using video study and self-assessment measures for continuous improvement.
Coursework Coursework is completed through a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning. All registered participants will attend 2 in-person training events at The Compass Center in Nashville, TN:
-
Circle 101 takes place July 9-11, 2025
-
Circle 201 takes place February 25-27, 2026
In addition, the cohort will join monthly 90-minute Virtual Circle & Training calls to support on-going learning and opportunities to practice facilitation skills. (Note: This may require participants to seek coverage on these days in advance.)
What are the steps to register?
Registration is now open, and must be submitted by May 2, 2024.
-
Once the school is ready to commit, the school principal or other designated leader must complete the Partnership Agreement and Deposit. To complete this agreement, you will need:
-
The names and email addresses of the selected course participants
-
Means of submitting the $1,500 deposit (e.g., credit card or ACH payment)
2. Once we have received a signed agreement and deposit, course participants must complete their individual Course Registration in order to receive their syllabus and all related documents. Individual Course Registration must be submitted by May 9, 2025.
*Schools that are interested in implementing Circles schoolwide, and who wish to develop their own in-house capacity to train and coach Circle facilitators should redirect their efforts to a partnership in our Compass Camp program.
July 9-13
2025
Circle 101
(in-person)
Year at a Glance
Aug - Jan
2025 2026
Monthly Virtual Circle & Training Calls
Feb 25-27
2026
Circle 201
(in-person)
Mar - May
2026
Monthly Virtual Circle & Training Calls
Additional Requirements
Circle Implementation. A critical component of the learning and development process is the consistent and intentional implementation of the Compass Circle practice. As such, each faculty member applying for certification must facilitate a minimum of 18 weekly Compass Circles over the course of the year with a consistent participant group of either students or adults. Participants should arrange to launch their Circles within 6 weeks of the start of the 25-26 school year.
Video Study. Due to the distance learning nature of much of the program, it is required that each participant capture video of their own facilitation of a minimum of 6 Compass Circles for instructional purposes. Video captured should have adequate audio quality for all Circle participants to be heard. This may require the purchase of additional audio and/or video equipment. Schools should take the necessary steps to ensure all students, their caregivers, and faculty have given informed consent to use the video for learning purposes.
Program Cost
$15,000 per school for up to 3 faculty members
(+ $2,500 for additional faculty members)
-
$1,500 Deposit must be received by May 2, 2025.
-
Full payment must be received no later than July 31, 2025.
Want to Learn More?
Request a 30-minute chat with one of our Facilitators.
Ready to Register?
To complete your registration, you:
-
Must be the school principal or designated school leader.
-
Need the names and email addresses of the selected course participants.
-
Must have means of submitting the $1,500 deposit (e.g., credit card or ACH payment)
Meet Your Coaches
Travis and Sara will be your guides this year. Here's a little about them.
