Dear Friends, Leadership and learning happen best in relationship. To be an exemplary and engaging learning community requires us to build ongoing relationships both within and beyond Crossroads. Learning in relationship deepens our engagement with ideas and extends the reach of our work. For example, last week, students from the Theater for Social Change elective performed a short original play...

Dear Friends, When we returned from spring break on Monday, I noticed how tall our students are getting. This always catches my attention at this time of year; in both the physical and metaphorical senses, they have grown and we can see the evidence. The end of the school year can challenge our focus, but as I moved through the...

Dear Friends, March is Women’s History Month, and this month, I have marveled at the leadership of the young women at Crossroads. In this Wednesday Notice, you will find stories about our students participating in the inaugural Teen Advocacy Day with Planned Parenthood in Jefferson City, attending a leadership conference, and organizing and leading the National School Walkout event for Crossroads. In...

Friends, I think a lot about the inspiration and imagination necessary to realize the possibilities and complexities of our mission statement. So when I walked into the library last Friday and was surrounded by our middle schoolers’ Science Fair projects, I was delighted and impressed by the ways their work demonstrated that mission in action. Exemplary Students met high standards...

Friends, Earlier this month at the Crossroads Black Student Union’s Celebration of Black Arts Explosion, Malaika Pedzayi-Ferguson read her poem, “Black Girl I Write for You,” which includes these lines: …Truth is I write for the black girls. For that is what I am and the only experience I can write about to the fullest degree. I write for the...

Friends, Over half of Crossroads families receive financial aid through our need-based Scholarship program. All of us benefit. This is why we dedicate our annual Gala, coming up on February 24th, to our unique and robust Scholarship program. The intention to build a diverse-in-many-ways community was present in our founding 43 years ago. Our co-founders wanted to offer children of...

Friends, Natural light streams into the lobby at the center of Crossroads. It’s one of my favorite places to observe our students. They appreciate, and know how to use, the unstructured times in our schedule. We include these unstructured times intentionally. Not only does the brain benefit from the laughter, conversation, and relationship building that occurs, our students also benefit...

Friends, Returning to school after any extended break is exciting for me. It was a joy to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to Crossroads and to begin second semester on Monday. We have much to look forward to semester, including Poetry Out Loud, the Celebration of Black Arts, Field Day, and the graduation of our senior class. One of...