It’s impossible to walk through the Crosstown Concourse building without noticing the large concrete pillars that support the structure of the former Sears facility. They made for a convenient metaphor as Spickler described the five core pillars of the school’s mission and operations.
1. Diverse by Design
The first stated pillar of Crosstown High is that it is diverse by design. This is not a school that is picking and choosing students with the best grades from the best middle schools in the area for admission to boost their test scores. The intent from the beginning was for Crosstown High to actually reflect the community. The majority of the school population is Black, more than half is economically disadvantaged, and more than a quarter have IEPs or Section 504 plans, which support students with disabilities. While many charter schools are criticized for a lack of economic and racial diversity, Crosstown High intentionally welcomes a representative student body.
2. Competency-Based Instruction
Stickers lining a large wall in the school listed the core competencies that students are expected to demonstrate by the end of their time at Crosstown High. You might expect them to say “proficiency in math” or “grade-level reading,” but instead they read, “critical thinking,” “pursuing goals,” “collaboration,” and other skills. The school’s philosophy is that students will learn subject-level proficiency by achieving the foundational skills on the wall. In fact, each student must give a “Presentation of Learning” at the end of each year to demonstrate their growth in these areas throughout the year. This is a major part of the student’s learning journey, which is reflected by the fact that friends and family are invited to come watch and celebrate the student’s presentation.
3. Project-Based Learning
All classes at Crosstown High utilize a project-based learning model, which is essentially exactly what it sounds like. Students learn through engaging in hands-on projects that often let them make their own choices. I observed a chemistry classroom working on a “chemtone” project, wherein students are presented with a pigment that they must replicate through trial and error. Rather than follow experiment instructions like a recipe, students try things out for themselves and work backwards from what they observe.
4. Relationships
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is not necessarily true of all high schools in the county. Student-teacher relationships are crucial to the function of Crosstown High. In fact, Spickler quipped, “You don’t get to work here if you don’t think teenagers are awesome.” Strong relationships build trust, which subsequently improves instruction and learning. These relationships extend to parents and the broader community, creating a sense of belonging and safety for all involved. As Spickler mentioned, “The kids know that their teachers really care.” This is reflected in the Spring 2025 Challenge Success Survey, wherein Crosstown High was one of two “positive deviants” for student engagement and belonging among schools throughout the nation.
5. Student Voice and Choice
Of course, a school that centers the student will highly value student voice and choice. In most Crosstown classrooms, student feedback is crucial to the pedagogy. Spickler was careful to distinguish between “voice” and “choice,” as students are always encouraged to use their voice, but they do not necessarily always get to make a final choice. Some things just have to be the way they are; typically those things are required by state and federal laws. But some of the aforementioned pillars, such as project-based learning and relationships, would be moot without student voice and choice.
