This year’s Grandparents and Special Friends Day was a joyful celebration of connection across generations. Our campus was filled with warmth as students shared their classrooms, projects, and Crossroads Academy traditions with the people who have played such meaningful roles in their lives. One of the most striking moments for me was watching grandparents and special friends engage with students—not simply as guests, but as students themselves, encouragers, and mentors.
I mentioned the “Mentor Mindset” described by David Yeager in his book 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People in my comments during Assembly. This spirit of mentorship connects deeply for me as a grandparent. Yeager’s research emphasizes that young people thrive when they are surrounded by adults who communicate two essential messages:
- I see your potential and believe in you.
- I will support and challenge you as you grow.
Grandparents and special friends embody this mindset so naturally. Their presence communicates belief, continuity, and care. When they listen closely to a child’s story, offer a word of encouragement, or simply show up year after year, they are reinforcing what Yeager calls a “purposeful and developmental” relationship—one that helps young people take healthy risks, persevere through challenges, and understand their place in a larger story.
At Crossroads, our faculty strive to model this same Mentor Mindset every day. We aim not only to teach knowledge and skills but to walk alongside students as they discover who they are and who they are becoming. Seeing that same spirit mirrored in the relationships between students and their grandparents and special friends was a powerful reminder of how a whole community working together shapes a child’s growth.
Thank you to all who made Grandparents and Special Friends Day such a success. Especially the teachers. We are grateful for the many ways your families nurture our students’ sense of belonging, purpose, and potential.
