Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences

Here at Crossroads, we strive to prepare students to think critically, express themselves openly and respectfully and commit themselves to lives that value community engagement and social activism. We aim to deliver a transformational educational experience that helps students find their passions, broaden their horizons and develop the leadership skills they will use to make meaningful differences in the world around them.

Since 1971, our School has empowered students to ask difficult questions, embrace ambiguity and stretch and challenge themselves intellectually, physically, artistically and emotionally—all in a warm and welcoming environment. With the guidance of our outstanding faculty, students learn to recognize their roles in making the world a more just and equitable place. The members of our diverse student body have the courage to voice their ideas, make bold choices and revel in the excitement of learning something new and growing in ways they had never imagined.

These life-changing adventures are found across all grade levels, from Elementary School lessons about race and immigration and Middle School design-thinking projects to advanced inquiry in the Upper School. These explorations continue in the theater, on the athletic field and beyond our campuses as students tap their profound potential. What ties it all together is our unique K-12 Human Development curriculum, which supports students in their emotional, physical and social development as they learn to share their thoughts, to listen deeply and to forge lifelong connections with their peers.

Because of this enriching and student-led educational approach, what most characterizes a Crossroads student is joy: contagious, wild, genuine, playful, uninhibited joy. On any given day, it may manifest through an inspired musical performance, a thrilling discovery in the science lab or a new personal best in cross-country. This joy is coupled with a deep sense of compassion and empathy that is nurtured throughout each student’s time at Crossroads.

Crossroads School provides a unique K-12 program built on a progressive, developmental model of education. As a college preparatory school, we certainly believe in the importance of academic success, yet not at the expense of a child’s emotional or social well-being. While students need to be challenged, we feel that it is crucial to develop and deliver curriculum that is appropriate for the age and ability of each grade level. This is what we mean when we describe ourselves as a “developmental” school.

Crossroads recognizes that there are many ways to learn. Integral to our identity as a progressive school is the notion that our teachers must design instruction that incorporates a variety of learning styles. Equally important is our belief that the curriculum should have meaning and interest for the student. It is, therefore, necessary to create inquiry-based lessons that explore and build upon the students’ knowledge base. In order to accomplish these objectives, teachers must know their students intimately. Therefore, relationship is the key to our educational model. In short, teachers at Crossroads are expected to know their students as individuals, determine how they learn best, and teach accordingly. Additionally, we view education as a work in progress. We constantly review what we do and how we do it with an eye to what needs to be refined, changed, or retained, always committed to the importance of offering a most relevant and meaningful educational experience.

Since our inception, Crossroads’ commitment to all forms of diversity has made it possible for us to be racially, economically, geographically, and culturally inclusive. Even in the earliest days, Crossroads made a major commitment to community service and soon developed a comprehensive program that served as inspiration for many other schools. In the 1990s we developed a different facet of community service we called “institutional community service” and created a separate non-profit foundation, the Crossroads Community Outreach Foundation, so that the School could model the values expected of our students.

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.

Elementary School: Norton Campus
Address: 1715 Olympic Blvd, CA
Postal Code: 90404
Phone: +1 310 8281196