As I was saying goodbye to children at the end of the day a few weeks ago, one of our youngest students summoned up the courage to ask, “Why can’t first graders play wall ball like everyone else?” “Good question,”…  Read more >

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have worked with our Middle School science teacher, Peter Faletra, on a proposal to establish a center for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education on our campus. The goal of…  Read more >

“Honesty is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.” Throughout my career, I have often discussed with students what this important trait means, but this response is one I will always remember. This Lower School student not only…  Read more >

“What magic potion did you use to avoid a snow day this year?” a parent recently asked. I immediately replied that while there’s hardly any snow on the ground, winter is not yet over! I grew up in New Hampshire…  Read more >

“The brain is a muscle,” educators like to say. And like other muscles, it requires mental exercise to develop and remain malleable. But new research suggests that the brain and our ability to learn benefit from physical exercise as well…  Read more >

Well before Angela Duckworth made the concept of “grit” mainstream and other educators took up the cry for perseverance, Crossroads Academy developed a Core Virtues Program that highlighted the signature importance of perseverance. And since 2016 is a Leap Year,…  Read more >

As we make note of the 100th day of school, many of us can remember moments when teachers encouraged us to collect 100 pennies or Cheerios. Yesterday, helping my youngest gather materials for his 100th-day vest, I reflected that the…  Read more >

For much of the fall and into the winter, Marilyn Wanner coordinated an impressive effort to produce a new admissions viewbook that not only reflects our school’s diversity of strengths but also authentically speaks to Crossroads essential qualities of academic…  Read more >

On one of my first days as a teacher, a colleague who later became my mentor asserted that what teachers can refer to as “knowledge” can become a forgettable patchwork of adult sayings in the absence of questioning and verifying….  Read more >

Studying a language that they did not first learn as young children is an important part of every student’s education at Crossroads. It’s wonderful to listen to Spanish and French phrases coming from classrooms and to watch students start to…  Read more >