Why Crossroads
Philosophy and Core Commitments
Our ambitions as both a place of learning and a force in the world go well beyond a pithy mission statement.
The Crossroads School Statement of Philosophy offers a detailed portrait of our values and our progressive, child-centered approach to education, one that encourages intellectual bravery and emotional resilience.
The Philosophy includes five core commitments, and we consider these commitments equally important in the lives of our students. They guide the School in decisions regarding programming and curricula and are the standards by which we measure our success.
Why Crossroads
Our Statement of Philosophy
The School was built upon five basic commitments: to academic excellence; to the arts; to the greater community; to the development of a student population of social, economic, and racial diversity; and to the development of each student’s physical well-being and full human potential.
It is the goal of Crossroads School to provide a strong college preparatory program from which each student will develop a personal commitment to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people. We consider certain skills to be essential for all graduates: to read well, to write clearly and coherently, to study effectively, to reason soundly, and to question thoughtfully.
Through the educational process, we assist students in gaining self-esteem, self-knowledge, and respect for the knowledge and opinions of others. We believe that education must not be a race for the accumulation of facts, but should be an enriching end in itself. We also believe that education is a joint venture among students, parents and teachers. To be effective with young people, teachers and parents must themselves continue to learn, so that they may perceive the young accurately and treat them wisely.
We believe that the arts are an essential part of the curriculum and that it is important for students to express themselves creatively and to use their imaginations freely. Therefore, music, drama, visual arts, film, writing and dance are significant parts of student life at Crossroads.
Through our academic and extra-curricular programs, we seek to promote social, political and moral understanding, and to instill a respect for the humanity and ecology of the earth.
We understand that there are many kinds of intelligence, and the traditional academic, cognitive area is one. Other important areas of intelligence are intuition, imagination, artistic creativity, physical expression and performance, sensitivity to others and self-understanding. To neglect any of these areas is to limit students in the development of their full human potential.
We believe that the uniqueness of children is revealed in their very existence and that it is the School’s responsibility to foster their innate sense of the mystery and joy of life.
It is the goal of Crossroads School to provide a strong college preparatory program from which each student will develop a personal commitment to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people. We consider certain skills to be essential for all graduates: to read well, to write clearly and coherently, to study effectively, to reason soundly, and to question thoughtfully.
Through the educational process, we assist students in gaining self-esteem, self-knowledge, and respect for the knowledge and opinions of others. We believe that education must not be a race for the accumulation of facts, but should be an enriching end in itself. We also believe that education is a joint venture among students, parents and teachers. To be effective with young people, teachers and parents must themselves continue to learn, so that they may perceive the young accurately and treat them wisely.
We believe that the arts are an essential part of the curriculum and that it is important for students to express themselves creatively and to use their imaginations freely. Therefore, music, drama, visual arts, film, writing and dance are significant parts of student life at Crossroads.
Through our academic and extra-curricular programs, we seek to promote social, political and moral understanding, and to instill a respect for the humanity and ecology of the earth.
We understand that there are many kinds of intelligence, and the traditional academic, cognitive area is one. Other important areas of intelligence are intuition, imagination, artistic creativity, physical expression and performance, sensitivity to others and self-understanding. To neglect any of these areas is to limit students in the development of their full human potential.
We believe that the uniqueness of children is revealed in their very existence and that it is the School’s responsibility to foster their innate sense of the mystery and joy of life.
