I AM THRILLED TO HAVE JOINED CROSSROADS as the Upper School Director in July 2003. Those of you with students already enrolled here know what I discovered in my very first days here: the school is thriving! You will find that Crossroads offers an outstanding educational program to thoughtful, talented, and diverse students. Upon coming to campus, you will be struck by the confluence of intellectual engagement, artistic endeavors, athletic achievement, outdoor environmental commitment, dynamic political activism, and meaningful service projects. Throughout the campus, you will see adults and students actively participating in the life of the school. IN ADDITION TO INTELLECTUAL AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT, one of the hallmarks of a Crossroads education is the commitment to the personal growth of each student. The school’s progressive educational program promotes self-awareness, self-confidence, and mutual respect through its unique human development program, its many student clubs and organizations, and through interpersonal communication in and out of the classroom. Each student has the personal support of an academic dean who monitors that student’s progress, assists with college planning, and offers guidance in creating a rewarding program. Counseling begins when students enter Crossroads Upper School and is inseparable from the school’s larger commitment to help all students realize their full potential. CROSSROADS HAS WORKED HARD to create an environment where everyone can thrive. And when schools are truly communities of learners—that is, when students, parents, teachers, administrators and trustees are simultaneously engaged in personal and intellectual growth—they become exciting and rewarding places for all those associated with them. Crossroads, you will find, is this kind of school. FROM VALUABLE AND SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS with teachers to life-changing opportunities to take risks and follow a passion, Crossroads offers its students the chance to encounter new educational experiences that will serve their future plans, all the while maintaining a balance between academic, creative, athletic, community, and social pursuits. In this way Crossroads honors its philosophical commitments to educating its students in all areas of human endeavor and fostering their "innate sense of the mystery and joy of life."