Crossroads is the only year-round school in the district, with a 45-days-on, 15-days-off schedule. Maria Montessori pioneered “personalized learning” more than 100 years ago in Italy, and her methods still work today at Crossroads. Students learn through their own natural curiosity about the world, and teachers provide an environment to encourage and guide each child’s natural drive to learn. Team
work is an important value in the Montessori method of teaching, which also features multi-grade classrooms with a cooperative, family-like atmosphere and teachers who stay with the student for two to three years. Students learn from each other by demonstrating self-direction, self-discipline, peacemaking and a sense of world citizenship. Crossroads Elementary Science Magnet is also a year-round program with a 45-days-on, 15-days-off schedule. Science is integrated into all core subjects and is the foundation for reading, writing and math. At the heart of our school is a one-of-a-kind Inquiry Zone – a fully-equipped science lab, staffed in collaboration with the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History, where students can build machines and design and conduct hands-on investigations. A bright and beautiful library/media center offers even more resources. Extended day and learning activity programs include outdoor club and robotics.
