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The Crossroads School
802 South Caroline Street, 21231; 410-695-0295
Charter/zoned school: Charter school
Grades served: Sixth through eighth
Application process and deadlines: The Crossroads School is a tuition-free, public, charter middle school that is open to any student who is a Baltimore City resident. To be eligible, families must submit an application for enrollment by March of the coming school year. Applications can be obtained by accessing our school website, visiting our main office, or contacting our school. A random lottery to select students for the number of spaces available takes place in March. Following the lottery process, enrollment conferences take place to introduce our school program to families. A summer orientation is also required for students accepted through the lottery process.
Uniform: The Crossroads School is a uniform school. Students are expected to be in uniform every day. Uniforms are purchased directly from the school. Parents who are facing hardships and cannot afford the school uniform are asked to speak directly to an administrator for assistance.
The uniform for the Crossroads School consists of khaki pants, shorts, or skirts (with a belt); any Crossroads-issued shirt with the school logo; and sneakers or shoes (no sandals or boots).
Brief school history: The Crossroads School opened in September of 2002 through the Baltimore City New Schools Initiative and is now operating as one of Maryland’s first charter schools. The school is operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation, an educational nonprofit organization that has worked with Baltimore’s youth for over 20 years. The founders of the school understood that middle school is an important “crossroads” in a young person’s life, and that a pathway to success in high school and college begins with a strong foundation.
School Leadership
Principal: Marc Martin
Phone: 410-695-0295, ext. 265, or 443-413-3941
Marc Martin has been an educator with Baltimore City Schools for 11 years. He began his teaching career teaching social studies to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Fallstaff Middle School in Northwest Baltimore. After three years, Marc joined the staff at Waverly Elementary/Middle, a CEO’s District school, in Northeast Baltimore where he taught for six years, first in fourth and fifth grades and later was instrumental in founding the middle school. Marc also served as the Math Instructional Support Teacher at Waverly, helping to develop curriculum and instruction in kindergarten through eighth grade. Marc is currently in his second year as principal of The Crossroads School. He earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College, and obtained his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Vice Principal: Jamila Sams is the Dean of Students and Families at The Crossroads School. In this position, she is required to design and implement structures that foster a positive and productive environment for the students of Crossroads and their families. This includes managing a school-wide discipline plan, conducting orientations with new students and families, and developing partnerships with community organizations and corporations. The Dean of Students is also responsible for educating parents and students about the high school application process.
Academics
Curriculum: In addition to utilizing and implementing Maryland’s Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC) in all content areas for all grade levels, The Crossroads School values hands-on learning and the core practices of the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) learning model. While students are provided with the instruction and practice necessary to master foundational skills in reading, math, and writing, our school also emphasizes authentic, conceptual understandings that result in the appropriate application of any skill at any time. With this philosophy, our students often participate in longer-term expeditions and investigations, learning plans that explore concepts, issues, and objectives with more depth. With regards to specific programs, our school implements Success For All’s Reading Edge Program in the area of reading and Baltimore City’s Mathworks program in the area of math. Both programs are research-based with a track record of success in schools similar in demographics to The Crossroads School.
Supplemental Instruction: All students participate in 90 minute enrichment classes each day. Enrichment offerings include art, computer studies, and Spanish. Enrichment classes rotate every trimester.
ESOL (English as second language): The school offers an ESOL program based on the needs of our students. An ESOL instructor is assigned to our school and works closely with students and staff to ensure language support is provided within the classroom context, allowing a student to access the curriculum while improving second language development. Through a teacher-obtained grant, our school also offers a Family Literacy Library, providing resources to Spanish-speaking families to assist them in getting involved in the education process of their children.
Special education: The Crossroads School is designed to support all students, including those with special needs. There are two special educators on our staff who work closely with content area teachers to make sure that all students with special needs are getting the support they need both in class and during extra help sessions. Due to the small size of our school, students have a personal learning environment that helps them focus. Additionally, our small class sizes allow teachers to provide a great deal of individual attention to each student during instructional blocks. Our hands-on approach to learning and the ways in which we involve students in the assessment process allow students with special needs to engage fully with the material they are learning.
Our classes are inclusive: Special education and general education students learn together in all classes. Unless specifically stated in a student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP), special education students participate in the same curriculum and take the same state, district and school exams as general education students. All students are held to the same behavior, grading, retention and promotion standards and policies.
Test Scores
Under No Child Left Behind, the Crossroads School has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) every year since the school’s inception. Last school year, Crossroads was the highest performing middle school (grades 6Ð8) in Baltimore City. Specific test scores are available here.
Enrichment Activities
Gifted/talented programs: All students are assessed upon entrance to the Crossroads School to help staff develop an individualized program for every student based on current performance levels in every content area. In addition, the school utilizes an acceleration program, a daily 60-minute block that meets the needs of every student. Through The Reading Edge, a Success for All Foundation program, each student is taught at the appropriate reading instructional level. Our advanced math students are also placed in our algebra program, a program that resulted in all eligible students passing the Algebra High School Assessment (HSA) last school year. Through our after-school program, students also have the opportunity to participate on our debate team, our chess team, and our National Academic League (NAL) Team. Each of these activities push our students to extend the learning outside of their regular classes.
Tutoring: In addition to coach classes offered after school to students by each content area teacher, The Crossroads School also has a weekly tutoring program accessible to all our students. The objective of the program is to provide students testing below grade level with additional academic support in math and reading in order to reach their fullest potential. Tutoring will target each child's individualized academic needs while also allowing for enriching, small group interactions. The tutoring program is offered at no cost to parents/guardians. Tutors are qualified instructors. This program takes place every Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
After-school clubs: An integral part of The Crossroads School is the Turning the Corner Achievement Program (TCAP), generously supported by Eddie and Sylvia Brown and the Brown family. The goal of TCAP is to provide supplemental academic and enrichment programs to Crossroads students both during the school day as well as through the TCAP Extended Day program. As part of the extended day program (or clubs), all Crossroads students stay until 4:30 pm two days a week. During this time, students participate in a self-selected club. Offerings rotate each trimester but include visual arts, media arts, sports, community service, and academic support. Offerings for this year include debate, art, boys' soccer, girls' sports, National Academic League, chess, ballroom dancing, rhythm masters drumming, leadership/community service, and academic tutoring.
Before/after care: Our school does not offer any before or after care to families.
Teaching Staff and Classroom Management
Class size: Small class sizes are offered school-wide, with the maximum cap for any class being 25 students. Recognizing that sixth grade is a critical transition year to the middle grades and adolescence, sixth grade classes are capped at 18 students. During different parts of the day, classes are broken down into even smaller class sizes, allowing our staff to target individual needs on a daily basis. Many classes have fewer than 15 students per teache
Teaching staff: All of our teaching staff are designated as highly qualified, holding certification in the content areas being taught. 95% of our teachers have earned master’s degrees. On average, our teachers have more than seven years of teaching experience in the classroom.
Paraprofessionals: Our school does not currently have paraprofessionals working in classrooms.
Student Population
Number of students: 150 total students: 50 sixth graders, 50 seventh graders, and 50 eighth graders.
Ethnic breakdown: 90% African American, 5% Latino, 5% Caucasian/white
Percentage on free/reduced lunch: 92%
Percentage of ESOL students: 3%
Percentage with Individual Education Plans (IEP): 10%
Specific information on demographics is available here.
Parent Involvement
Parent group name: Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
Parent group contact: Jamila SamsSchool philosophy on parent involvement: The mission of the Crossroads School Parent Advisory Council is to serve as a bridge between students, parents, faculty, and the community. We aim to foster a productive relationship between parents, educators and the general public in order to ensure that all Crossroads students have the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and academic achievement.
Number of active members: 12
Number of times group meets per year: Monthly, with additional meetings as needed
Description of activities: The council consists of 12 active parent members, with representation from all grade levels. Meetings are scheduled on the last Monday of each month. There are eight scheduled meetings and impromptu meetings as needed. The PAC is responsible for coordinating school-wide events throughout the year, serve as representatives for the school body at public events and forums, as well as provide volunteering opportunities at the school for the entire parent body.
Facility Description
The Crossroads School is located on the beautiful East Harbor Campus of the Living Classrooms Foundation. Our facilities include five different building structures overlooking the Harbor, a backdrop contributing to the feeling that students take classes in a college-like atmosphere. The school has two state-of-the-art computer labs, outfitted with Mac desktops. All of our classrooms are equipped with SmartBoards, projector systems, and video/audio capabilities. There are also two science labs on campus, with each lab containing mobile sink units necessary for hands-on experiments. The center of our campus is the Great Room, a multipurpose space that is used for all-school community meetings, breakfast and lunch, special assemblies, parent events, and fitness activities.