CROSSROADS REFLECTS ON 20 YEARS

Fostering Leaders Dedicated to Equity

On a hazy October afternoon, Marin Academy students and Crossroads middle schoolers logged on to a virtual classroom for more than just an afternoon tutoring session. Despite frequent challenges with technology, internet connections, and the long days on Zoom and Google Classrooms, these students knew they had an opportunity to be together, a chance to build bridges, and a moment to connect. Crossroads Director, Abby French, spent the afternoon popping in and out of breakout rooms and tutoring groups to find one example after another of joyful learning. Tutors led students in laughter-filled games of Kahoot to test their knowledge of a topic or prepare for an upcoming quiz. Groups engaged in critical conversations after watching KQED news clips. They used virtual whiteboards to dig deeper into their understanding of algebra. They discussed their academic and personal goals in a school year vastly different from anything they had previously experienced. They worked through challenges and celebrated successes. Each session ended with a moment for "props," an opportunity for the Crossroads community to share appreciation for each other. Words like fun, hard work, persistence, support, growth, and accomplishment frequently floated around the digital classroom.

Founded in 2001, Crossroads was created to address issues of educational equity and the opportunity gap in the San Rafael community. Crossroads is an academic support and enrichment program that partners with Davidson and Venetia Valley middle schools to work with 7th-and 8th-grade students, many of whom will be the first generation in their families to attend college. Crossroads strives to create a space where students can fully realize their potential and develop a lifelong love for learning. The program's founding Director, Rey Fernandez, reflects on the vision that inspired the program twenty years ago, "We asserted that talent and potential are equally distributed, but opportunity isn't, for a host of systemic and historical reasons. I'd spent a lot of time meeting with community-based organizations and school leaders in the Canal, and it was clear to me that Marin Academy could facilitate connecting curious and dedicated youth with opportunity, and that's where the name Crossroads came from."

Marin Academy student tutors and fellows design curriculum, teach classes, and mentor middle-school students with support from the Crossroads leadership team. The relationships that form between the MA students and the Crossroads students can be life-altering. Zara Kiger '21 described leading a class with classmate Jazmin Moreno '21 to build community and strengthen the relationships amongst a small group of girls from Crossroads. "We spent our first class 'vision boarding' and creating boards of all our dreams, aspirations, and goals. It was truly an amazing bonding experience. We all shared stories about our lives and heard about each other's experiences at school, but also we all got a glimpse into each person's hopes for the future." Zara continued, "Crossroads has shown me that each and every person has something to offer, and the people I met in Crossroads helped me grow deeply as a person. Participating in Crossroads as both a tutor and fellow has made me a better listener, teacher, and leader."

Inspired by her four years in the program, Zara shared that "the work of Crossroads is so important because issues of education equity and gaps in opportunity continue to persist in San Rafael, in all of Marin, in all of California, nationally, and globally. By giving support and mentorship to young middle school students, Crossroads allows students to reach the potential they have within themselves. Any student can learn to be a leader and truly make a difference in this world and in the lives of others if they are given support, mentorship, opportunities from others." Twenty years later, Rey Fernandez's vision for Crossroads is perfectly reflected in the voice of a recent alumna.

Rebekka Dagher '12 first began as a Crossroads student who then attended Marin Academy and served in Crossroads as a tutor and fellow. "Crossroads, and all programs like it, is a mutual investment with the community. When Marin Academy provides vital funding and enrichment for Crossroads students, these students can develop crucial skills in social-emotional development, decision-making, and study skills. They begin to recognize their value, understand the opportunities available to them, and feel supported throughout. With these lessons in their repertoire, the students are then eager to give back to their community. Crossroads helps to build our students up so they can be the leaders and role models for their families, peers, neighbors, and future students in their community." After six years in the program, Rebekka went on to become the Director of Aim High at Marin Academy and a bilingual speech therapist in Berkeley Public Schools. She continues, "My time as a Crossroads student helped prepare me to become a leader. My own Crossroads tutors had helped me gain the self-esteem needed to help others and made me eager to do so. Being able to lift up students who reminded me of myself was a tremendously valuable experience that helped me grow into myself throughout my four years at MA."

Now in the face of a global pandemic, our community and our nation have seen educational inequity grow and the chasm of opportunity deepen. Current Crossroads Director Abby French sees our 20th anniversary as an opportunity to dig even deeper and recommit to the vision that inspired Marin Academy to create the program in 2001. Mission-driven, collaborative, and biased toward action, Crossroads is much more than a tutoring program. Crossroads challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society and continues to inspire alumnae like Rebekka and Zara in their work towards a more equitable future.