September 20, 2024
Crossroads College Preparatory School is excited to announce the receipt of two grants from the Innovative Technology Education Fund (ITEF) to support our groundbreaking 5th Day Program. These grants are a significant step in our journey to refine and enhance our innovative educational practices.
Design Thinking Discovery Visit at OneStone Lab51 School
As part of the first grant, a team of dedicated educators from Crossroads, including Co-Heads Mark Norwood and Sarah Pierson Wolff, Director of Student Life Gretchen Roberts, and Co-Chair of the 5th Day Department Bryan Pannill, will embark on a “Design Thinking Discovery Visit” to OneStone Lab51 School in Boise, Idaho.
This visit aims to provide invaluable insights into the school’s innovative practices centered on student voice and agency. OneStone’s Lab51 is recognized for its student-driven approach to education, particularly its Design Lab framework, where students tackle real-world problems through project-based learning. Our team believes that learning directly from an exemplary model like Lab51 will inspire and clarify our vision for enhancing the 5th Day Program.
Mark Norwood, who has established a longstanding relationship with ITEF, highlighted the importance of this visit: “We are eager to learn from OneStone and bring those insights back to Crossroads as we continue to develop our 5th Day initiatives.”
Collaboration with Seedfolk Partners
The second grant focuses on our collaboration with Seedfolk Partners, founded by Katie Kimbrell, a former Chief Education Officer at Startland EDU. This partnership aims to develop a Center at Crossroads that supports community-based problem-solving and design thinking in local schools.
Through this collaboration, we will conduct a landscape analysis to gauge interest in these innovative pedagogies within the St. Louis region. The goal is to identify areas of readiness for implementation, design initial pilot programs, and ultimately establish the Center as a resource for educators across the area.
Kimbrell’s extensive experience in integrating design thinking into curricula will be invaluable as we work to inspire and equip teachers to adopt these methods in their classrooms.
As we embark on these exciting initiatives, we are committed to sharing our learnings with our community and beyond. We will present our observations to faculty, host follow-up meetings, and develop a partnership directory to connect educators with resources and support.
At Crossroads, we believe in the power of innovative education to transform lives and communities. We are grateful to ITEF for their support and look forward to the positive impact these grants will have on our students and the wider St. Louis educational community.