Short takes: Crossroads curriculum helps students plot a course
By:
Marsha Boutelle
About five years ago, husband-and-wife educators David and Mary Holden were “experimenting” with the concepts in Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Impressed by strategies they learned from the book, they realized that teenagers could benefit from its principles. Thus was born the idea that led to a highly successful course called “Crossroads,” originally taught only at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, near San Diego.
That was in 2001. Since then, the Crossroads program has migrated to a total of five schools in San Diego County’s Sweetwater Union High School District (a few more schools in the district run similar programs).
The course, which ninth-grade students can take for one or two semesters, helps them make the transition to high school and provides them with improved decision-making and study skills. It also teaches them how to establish positive relationships with peers and adults. Students receive a copy of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” as well as the companion workbook; they keep a Crossroads portfolio and attend field trips to college campuses to encourage strategic thinking about their futures.
“Crossroads focuses a lot on character development,” said Mary Holden, who directs the program at Mar Vista High. “We came up with the ‘Crossroads’ name from Habit #2—‘Begin with the end in mind.’ Students are at the point where they can go in any direction they choose. Crossroads provides them with options. It gets them to think about where they want to be.”
About 75 percent of the school’s incoming freshmen take the course, Holden said. Although Crossroads is not, strictly speaking, a required course, students are encouraged to enroll.
“We call it a ‘mandatory elective,’” Holden laughed. “We sort of make them take it. We feel that, in general, it’s a great course for everyone.”
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. A survey revealed that 93 percent of students agreed with the statement, “I have the skills to be a successful student.” And 94 percent agreed that “I have friends at school.”
Crossroads provides students with “a time to learn about themselves and plan for their futures,” Holden said. “It helps them get organized. It helps them do better in school.”