Lizette Valles, M.Ed.
Founder/Head of School/Educator
Mrs. Valles has served in various roles in her career as an educator. She taught middle school English and Spanish for several years and then transitioned into K-8 librarianship. She thoroughly enjoyed that role and wrote a bilingual children’s book, Land of the Lost Socks. She served on children’s author panels and guest lectured at Azusa Pacific University (her alma mater) about the publishing process for children’s literature courses. That led to her work as a high school librarian/tutoring program coordinator which served as her inspiration for the creation of Compass Educators. She desires that every student receive the help and tools in order to approach their educational journey empowered and curious. Her approach is relational as she seeks to understand each student holistically and is an advocate for tauma-informed teaching, mental health and the struggling student. She is passionate about serving others, developing the potential in her students, and mentoring the next generation!
She is the founder/head of school of Ellemercito Academy, an innovative private microschool in Los Angeles focused on a living, highly tailored, and transformative education. Teaching with this personalized model has allowed her to focus on what matter most — her students and their various learning styles and educational goals.
Oscar Valles
Principal/CFO/Educator
Mr. Valles’s teaching career spans over a decade serving primarily as a K-12 teacher, coach, and athletic director. He follows an experiential and relational teaching model knowing full well that connection precedes instruction. He is a former English Language Learner (ELL) teacher and loves to encourage and mentor students to continue striving for excellence even in the midst of difficulties especially when acclimating to a new culture/school environment. Thriving both in and out of the classroom with experience in reparative parenting/teaching strategies as a foster adoptive father, leading student humanitarian trips to México, coaching middle school basketball and football for several years, and privately homeschooling students as a support to families during the 2020-2021 school year have been some of his career highlights. He is currently the principal and lead teacher at Ellemercito Academy and is enjoying microschooling tremendously! His passion for project/place-based learning enables students to appreciate the learning process in a way that most never have before! Oscar is the proud husband of Lizette and together they have created a safe haven for students to thrive!
Linda Kazibwe
Science Educator
M.Chem /B.A. Biochemistry
Ms. Kazibwe is a passionate educator who has been in the field for over 15 years. In that time, she has taught math, physical science, and life science, including Biology, AP Chemistry, and Algebra. She loves being out in nature and especially enjoys experiencing science and math through every day phenomena! In addition to setting up engaging lab experiences, she can be found climbing sturdy trees, doing headstands on fountains, or making delicious kitchen messes from time to time! She is a vibrant, energetic teacher who both challenges and inspires her students to reach their highest potential! She is well-versed in a variety of topics and looks forward to enriching your student’s educational experience.
Danielle Ardito
Academic Coach • SPED Educator
Danielle has 10+ years of experience in Child Development. She is currently completing her Masters in Education and Multi- Subject Teaching Credential. She loves working with kids and watching them learn and grow along the way. Her goal in the field of education is teach and positively impact the generations that come after her. She loves children’s sense of humor and is still a kid at heart! Danielle spends her free time with her two cats, Squiggles and Crouton, and loves the outdoors. She enjoys hiking, walks, kayaking and traveling.
Fazil Mohammed, M.Math
Math Educator
Mr. Mohammed is a senior math faculty member at reputable institutions in India. He is qualified for the National Eligibility Test-Junior Research Fellowship and National Board for Higher Mathematics as teaching faculty and continued post graduate work at the prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He has 12 years of classroom teaching and private tutoring experience in training students to ace IITJEE exams (equivalent to SAT/ACT) as well as curriculum development.
He is proud to have helped thousands of students truly understand and appreciate the real beauty of mathematics in his teaching career. He is overjoyed to play a pivotal role in his students’ dreams of earning acceptance into some of the world’s most prestigious universities. He gives the utmost importance to conceptual learning and thorough understanding of the subject matter. He believes in imparting knowledge rather than the modern notion, which is training students to merely pass exams. When working with Fazil, students will begin looking at mathematics in a different light. They’ll understand the meaning and connection between various concepts. Of course, as an additional bonus, their test scores will dramatically improve too!
You can view some of his lessons here:
Online School of Math: Infinite Prime Theorem
Online School of Math: Are Primes Really Scarce
