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Crossroads Cooperative Learning Program
Crossroads Cooperative Learning Program (CCLP)
By at least one estimate, four out of five Hartford students live in poverty. A recent study also found that only 28 percent of the freshmen who entered Hartford Public High School (HPHS) progressed to their senior year. The Crossroads Cooperative Learning Program was incorporated in 2002 to help increase the number of HPHS students who graduate. Its mission is best summarized by its motto: “Plan to Graduate. Graduate with a Plan.”
The program attempts to identify students before their sophomore year and to support them through graduation, as well as after if necessary. CCLP has adopted a three-pronged approach: summer academic enrichment, after-school meetings, and career and college counseling. Crossroads membership approaches 60 to 70 students.
Summer Academic Enrichment Program
Over the course of three weeks in August, CCLP’s Summer Enrichment Program aims to build the intellectual confidence necessary for students to flourish in their high school curriculum and beyond. This prong of Crossroads takes place at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford and features morning and afternoon academic enrichment sessions taught by experienced independent school teachers, mostly from Westminster School. Students entering grades 9 through 11 attend workshops in writing, English, history, math and science, while incoming seniors attend workshops in philosophy and college essay development. All students participate in SAT preparation and are provided daily breakfasts and lunches prepared by CCLP volunteers.
Crossroads utilizes an innovative lesson-study pedagogy, a teaching method that emphasizes faculty collaboration during the creation and execution of each lesson plan, and active student learning based on intellectual self-reliance, group work and public speaking.
After-School Meetings: Walkabouts and “Sit for SAT”
Touching base with students after school is another important element of the Crossroads program. During “One Minute Meetings” twice a week, both the CCLP Director and other adult volunteers maintain regular contact with students and track their academic progress. After each marking period, these adult volunteers also accompany the students on “Walkabouts” to visit with their teachers. Preparation for the SAT continues during the academic year through the “Sit for SAT” initiative where CCLP volunteers seek to conduct brief one-on-one sessions with students to review sample math and critical reading questions for the test.
College and Career Counseling Program
Through its College and Career Counseling Program, CCLP seeks to offer HPHS students the same general type of college and career planning available to students in private schools. It also encourages students to prepare for and to take the SAT. During the spring of their junior year and summer before their senior year, CCLP students meet three times with CCLP’s College and Career Counseling Consultant, who is also a college counselor at Westminster School. First, they meet as a large group to review general options and to learn about the Naviance software that is intended to help each student create his or her plan; second, they meet in smaller groups for more advanced training with Naviance; and third, they meet to finalize their strategy.
CCLP students have gone on to attend many universities and colleges including: the University of Connecticut, Temple University, the University of Hartford, Dickinson College, Endicott College, Manchester Community College and Capital Community College.
CCLP also maintains a partnership with Career Beginnings, a program associated with the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education that seeks to help students pursue their education beyond high school by providing mentors and a wide array of workshops. By also taking advantage of the Career Beginnings’ offerings, CCLP students increase the range of opportunities available to them.
Bridge to Hartford Initiative
A unique aspect of CCLP is that it promotes the idea of a postgraduate year (i.e., a fifth year of high school) at an independent school, where students can continue to build their academic and athletic resume as well as prepare for the rigors of college. The Bridge to Hartford Initiative (BTHI) aims to strengthen ties between the independent school world and Hartford-region high schools. While the three-pronged CCLP approach is limited to HPHS students, the BTHI seeks to extend the scope of Crossroads by allowing its director to help place worthy student-athletes at prep schools, primarily as postgraduates. As a result of this initiative in 2008, six students from Hartford’s high schools (i.e., Bulkeley High School, Hartford Public High School and Weaver High School) received scholarships to attend independent schools as postgraduates. Over the years, CCLP has, in one form or another, helped place such students at: Cheshire Academy, Hyde School at Woodstock, Loomis-Chaffee School, Kent School, Salisbury School, Suffield Academy, The Gunnery, Westminster School, and Wilbraham and Monson Academy.
Generous Support
CCLP is an independent, 501(c)(3) (i.e., non-profit) organization governed by a board of directors. Westminster School loans the services of faculty member Todd Eckerson to CCLP and he fills the role of Crossroads’ Director. CCLP is made possible through the generous support of numerous individuals, foundations and institutions. Their generosity enables CCLP to open new doors of opportunity for many young people in Hartford.
For more information
To learn more about the Crossroads Cooperative Learning Program or to support its work, please contact:
Todd Eckerson
CCLP Director
office: (860) 408-3048
cell: (860) 874-4193
tleck@westminster-school.org
Westminster School
995 Hopmeadow Street
P.O. Box 337
Simsbury, CT 06070
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