TRANSCRIPT
Shanxi: Hello, this is Shanxi Omoniyi, host of MPE’s “Homeschool Hints” podcast to encourage you wherever you may be on your homeschool journey.
Today Kristi Windish is joining me. She’s the owner of True Compass, and she’ll be at our March 6-7th Homeschool Conference and Curriculum Fair. And Kristi, did you want to start by just introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your educational journey?
Kristi: Sure, yeah. So my name is Kristi Windish, and my company is True Compass. We’ve been around since about 2019. I can’t believe we’re coming up on seven years.
My background is that I was a speech language pathologist for about 25 years before this. So I wasn’t really in the homeschool world necessarily. I was working in clinics and regular education settings.
But through True Compass, I’ve just met so many homeschool families who were seeking out a little bit of guidance and help for their students. And so, I’ve really just met so many wonderful people, making some connections with homeschool families here in Wichita and in Kansas.
And then also, you know, the Learning Lab here is in Wichita, and it’s such a great resource for homeschool families, microschools, just any of those non-traditional educational pathways. And so that has been another avenue that I’ve kind of met lots of great people doing things more on that individual basis.
Shanxi: So how did True Compass start? How did you make the jump?
Kristi: Yeah, so I was working in the local school district, really primarily with preschoolers, but I have four children of my own.
And so, as they were reaching those college decisions, college major career decisions, we sought out aptitude testing. And of course, we had to go out of state. We didn’t know anybody around here who did it.
And the information was so helpful. It gives you this objective information about your kids, then you kind of get to see them through this other light and gave me some great information to guide them.
And while it was a great experience, it was also kind of disappointing. I just felt like, oh boy, she didn’t ask me any questions. I wanted some input and I wanted it to be a discussion. I kind of felt like she just told my son what to study.
So, my colleague and friend in the schools, Robin Jackson, and I just kind of started this journey of what a great assessment, what great information. How can we bring this to Wichita and Kansas in general?
And so, we found the Highlands Ability Battery and we became certified in that. And we kind of built our assessment process around that test.
So that’s really what got us to that. And we kind of launched it, and I left speech pathology even though I loved it for so long. But I think this is a better fit for my actual aptitudes and values. So it’s been a great journey.
Shanxi: Yeah, definitely. What challenges would you say that homeschool moms or just students in general expect – or should they expect when trying to make career decisions? Say they haven’t had the benefit of aptitude testing or they’re just hearing about it for the first time?
Kristi: Yeah, yeah. Well, even students all over the place, whether they’re in traditional schools or at home, we’re kind of asking them to make a decision when they don’t have really a lot of information or experience. We teach them coursework, and we put them in sports and art and music.
And then we say, okay, now what do you wanna do for a job? And they’re like, well, I don’t know.
And it’s kind of hard to bridge that, even though all of that coursework and hobbies, they’ve learned things about themselves, but they just don’t know how to bridge that gap of, what does this mean for a career?
And so, all of those students, typically the students that come to me have two different things. One, they have no idea what they wanna do, and they don’t know where to start. Or they come to me because they have so many things that they’re interested and they don’t know how to choose. And so, either way, they just feel overwhelmed.
So I think what’s out there for students to help them decide just falls short. They kind of, there’s interest inventories, or online quizzes that just kind of ask students what they like. But that doesn’t really tell them what their role should be or what they bring to that career.
If somebody who is interested in teaching, well, let’s talk that through. Would you like to teach one subject? Do you think you’d want to teach elementary? Do you want to teach just in a traditional school? Would you like to explore other options? Or are you more of a behind the scenes, I want to develop educational policies and make changes?
Those are the types of things that maybe an aptitude test might help them learn about themselves.
Shanxi: Sure. Yeah, it’s definitely going past the surface level, right? And more nuanced, detailed.
Kristi: Yes, yeah.
Shanxi: Okay, well, that’s really helpful. What other benefits do you think people should expect or know about taking student assessments?
Kristi: Yeah, so the assessments that are out there that they might see are those that just kind of say, you know, what are you interested in? What do you like?
And we do some of that, we incorporate some of that. Of course, we wanna find things that students are interested in and the challenges that they care about.
But the primary tool that we use that I mentioned, the Highlands Ability Battery, that is the aptitude test. And it’s based on objective information, meaning students aren’t just answering questions about themselves. They’re performing tasks.
And so, it provides us this information that isn’t just, hey, how do you like to solve problems? It says, hey, this is what this test revealed. And these are the types of problems you do like to solve.
It kind of looks at students’ spatial skills. And even students who are really bright and score well in all areas in their coursework might not have spatial skills that score high in this. And that indicates they’re very comfortable in the world of ideas and concepts.
And so, things like law might be more appealing to them.
Whereas someone who scores really high in those spatial skills, it lets us know they need a tangible product at the end of the day. And law might feel too abstract.
But if you have a student who’s passionate about a subject, they might think I should be a lawyer so I can do this. So that’s the type of objective information that this test can just give students.
And it’s not to put them in a box and say, Oh, you can’t do this, but just to make them aware of, here’s what you’re bringing to these roles that you’re interested in.
And so, in some ways, it narrows down their careers, but in other ways, it also suggests, Hey, have you thought of these other things?
Because we only know so many things. We know what our parents do, and some of our friends’ parents do, or what we see online. But there’s so many careers out there that maybe students haven’t thought of, and the test will suggest careers based on your aptitude profile.
Shanxi: I really like that because it is so easy to fall into the trap of just saying, well, people say this or people say that, but to have that kind of scientific research backing up your conclusions is awesome.
Kristi: Yes. And that’s often what we do. You know, I find that parents are very insightful, and I always include them in the process. I send them a questionnaire. And so, they might see strengths in their students.
But their students don’t believe them. Because you’re my mom, you have to tell me that. So I can typically back that up.
Occasionally, I’ll say, oh, I think this is how I see it. But really, parents are pretty spot on. And so it’s just really nice to be able to show students, hey, this is how, objectively, this is how you’re seen, and these are the strengths that you bring. And the test also suggests certain strengths that, you know, we need an outlet for.
And so if you do have those spatial skills and you go into law or ministry, you might be really good at those, but you kind of need an outlet for that tangible product at the end of the day, whether that’s a hobby or a shift in career.
Shanxi: That’s really cool because I can also see how you could talk about some of the apprenticeships or the construction industries and how that might affect the jobs that you don’t often think of or associate with the traditional college higher education.
Kristi: Yeah. And what I love about this process is the test itself, the careers that are suggested aren’t necessarily – they require all education levels.
So, for students who aren’t sure they want to go to school or students who want to go get a Ph.D., we can kind of talk about those. And that’s really important – what your goals are and what you value are really going to help make that final decision. And there’s not a test that can tell you what you value. It’s kind of through that discussion.
Sometimes I have students who are really interested in music or drama, but maybe that’s not the lifestyle they want.
And so, they realize, okay, I’m not willing to move anywhere or do any sort of work to make it in that industry. So, I’m going to choose a different career, but maybe I’ll still work in the local theater because that’s a passion of mine, but I don’t have to depend on my income for that.
And so that’s where we can really have these discussions of, you have all these gifts, how do you want to use them? How do you want to make money? How do you want to enjoy your life? And all of those things are important.
Shanxi: Sure, definitely. I mean, speaking to the music and theater things, sometimes, you can dabble in careers that maybe have some link back to those passions, but they’re just in a different way, like music editing or sound or podcasting. And it’s just amazing how the things that you thought maybe wouldn’t fit somehow do.
Kristi: Yes, yeah, and things that students haven’t thought of.
You know, I have a lot of students who love sports. It’s what they’ve been doing for years, and they think maybe I should go into sports management.
But maybe that’s not really where their gifts lie. You know, maybe coaching isn’t it, but they’re really good at math. You know, like all of those teams need accountants. All of them, you know, coaching or being an athletic director maybe isn’t the right fit for you, but you can still work in that world or that industry.
And so, kind of looking at, what gifts do you bring and what types of roles would you really enjoy in that world of sports? And then if your interests change, which they often do, you know “I’ve got these skills and I can bring them to a different industry.”
Shanxi: Right. Yeah, that’s interesting. Can you discuss some of the services and products that you offer and which ones that you specifically recommend for high schoolers?
Kristi: Yes. So I would say 80% of the time when I work with students, it’s one-on-one. And that’s really what I enjoy because I can sort through some of this information, you know, and help them talk through and work with their parents.
And so we call it the Student Discovery Program. And it basically is the aptitude assessment along with the personality, interest, values. And the students take all of the assessments online at home, kind of at their own pace.
It’s a longer assessment. It takes almost 3 hours. It’s not just this surface level. But they can break it up. And then we meet for almost two hours to discuss all the results. And then we have a second follow-up meeting.
So, after students have their results, they explore some of their ideas, and then we meet again.
But many of the homeschool groups that I’ve worked with have put together their own group of up to 10-20 students, and we can review the results as a group. And that makes it much more affordable. And so that’s sometimes an option as well.
And then for students who, once they’ve gone through that group at less than half the cost, if they want to add on an individual meeting, it still makes the whole process a little bit more affordable. So I don’t have a group put together right now, but I’ll be doing that in the summer.
But typically I do that here in Wichita. I’d love the opportunity to come host a group somewhere in the Kansas City area if there’s some interest in that. But for families that are kind of wanting to just work online, we can meet over Zoom. I do that several times a week.
Shanxi: Definitely. Yeah, that’s cool. I like how there’s always that group discount. (laughs) I like just the idea of, yeah, I can see that really appealing to a lot of homeschool families, especially if you have lots of kids.
Kristi: Yeah, because they can kind of get the information they need and sort through it. And they can process that. What I like about the group is they have some time to process the aptitudes and look through it. And then by the time we meet individually, we don’t have to go through all of that. Then we can jump in, okay, what does this mean specifically for you?
And so it’s a really – it’s almost a more efficient way for me to work because I don’t have to go through the aptitudes 10 times with each person. (laughs) But yeah, so it really does work out well.
Shanxi: Yeah, that’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Kristi. This has been really wonderful to hear and just think about. When you look back on your life and you think, what could I have done differently? Having this kind of roadmap would make such a huge difference, I know, to a lot of people.
Kristi: Yeah. It really is helpful to say, oh, this is why I see things the way I do or why I enjoyed this role and didn’t enjoy this role. And as adults, it’s easy for us to kind of process that information, but for students, they’re coming at it with not much experience. So, having just a little information about how they’re wired can really help them weed through some of the things that they’re thinking about.
Shanxi: Yeah. Well, anything else that you’d like us to know or that you’d like to mention for our listeners to consider?
Kristi: Yes, well, I really, you know, any of the participants or attendees at the MPE conference, I’m planning on having a $50 discount. So however I can share that, if that’s in a flyer or I’ll be at the workshops at the conference. So I’m excited to meet whoever wants to come by.
And then if anybody’s interested, our website is truecompassllc.com, and there’s lots of information there, or you can just give me a call.
Shanxi: Yeah, definitely. I know that when you mentioned homeschool groups, are those specifically like co-ops or just families in the area?
Kristi: Yes, you know, there’s just some families in the area, not necessarily a specific co-op that has contacted me, but families just kind of get together and say, hey, we’ve got a group. We want to get together. (laughs)
Shanxi: Is there a specific age range that you target or that you think is super helpful? Like I know people might think, say, middle school is too early. What would you say is like the sweet spot?
Kristi: Yes, I would say I love working with sophomores and juniors. But senior year is not too late. I don’t want anybody to think it’s ever too late.
But sophomores, some of the testing – the Highlands Ability Battery also gives you information about your learning channels. And so, not only are you kind of starting to explore career ideas early, you’re getting some information about, oh, I really need to be, utilizing this manner when I’m studying and I’ll benefit from reading versus listening versus design memory. So that can be helpful for those 14, 15 year olds.
And 14 is the absolute youngest because the Highlands Ability Battery really is only for 14 and up. Yes, and if you think your student is 15, 16, and not quite ready for those conversations, then maybe wait a little.
But if they’re feeling anxious, it’s a great way to kind of empower them and say, let’s celebrate your gifts and let’s not worry about the fact that maybe pre-calculus is difficult for you. I think some students take certain subjects, and they start to feel badly, that they’re not good at it.
And this test will say, well, your brain’s not really wired that way. No wonder. But that means that you have these other gifts. that some of those, engineering students don’t have. And so, we can kind of really celebrate that.
So, I think anytime, students are feeling maybe a little stressed about their future. This will help them kind of compartment – okay, here’s what I should focus on. And maybe give them some next steps of, how can I explore these careers? Can I job shadow? Can I talk to someone in those fields? Can I take a class that will help me decide my interest level in this area? So it’s a great way to kind of start the conversation fairly early.
Shanxi: Yes, right, exactly. And I love what you said about just bringing down the anxiety level because I know with today, that people are talking about all these new things, AI, getting a lot of jobs and all that thing.
You know, I always feel with these kinds of conversations, it’s like we’ve always faced so many disruptors. We’ve always faced, you know, oh, this is going to take over our jobs or this is going to, you know.
Kristi: Right.
Shanxi: From the industrial revolution up to modern day. I mean, there’s always that threat, but there’s also that huge opportunity too. And I think people need to focus on, is that every challenge brings some sort of opportunity that is new and different.
Kristi: Yes. No, I think that’s the perfect way to look at it. And the other thing that I really, I think when I started this path, I thought, oh, I’m gonna help students choose a career.
And now I say, I’m gonna help students understand who they are and how they’re wired. So that when there are those shifts, they know, OK, well, here’s what I bring. Here’s some strengths I can lean into rather than I just chose a career and now I have to pivot, you know, because I can’t find a job, or I want to change careers because there will be those inevitable changes and pivots that we have to do.
So, the more information they have about themselves, the more they can make the decision at the end of high school, but also the decision 10 years from now.
Shanxi: Yes, I love that long-term, long-term view.
Kristi: Yeah. The beauty about the Highlands Ability Battery is that they’ll have access to those reports online forever.
And so, you know, obviously when you work with me, I’m going to print some things out, you’ll have a notebook, but you’ll also, you know, be able to go to Highlands and say, I took this test, because how your aptitudes are stable. They really are likely not to change at all.
Your interest and your personality might shift quite a small amount. But that way, once you’ve taken this test, you have access to it forever.
And so, you can always go back and say, oh, what do I need to remember about this? Or what do I bring, what skills do I bring to leadership? And so it’s a great resource to have that’s a lifelong tool.
Shanxi: Thanks so much for listening. We hope you are encouraged in your homeschool journey.
Please continue the conversation with us on our website, midwesthomeschoolers.org, or email us at podcast@midwestparenteducators.org. We’re also active on social media if you’d like to connect with us there. Thanks to Kevin McLeod of incompetech.com for providing this royalty-free song Wholesome, which is licensed under creativecommons.org.
