Our Programs

Counseling

Because we understand that academic success generally follows success in other areas of children’s lives, our overall program goals are to completely surround at-risk urban teenagers with such strong safety nets (programs and services), in and out of school, they cannot and do not fail. To keep our students on task toward success, we set very straightforward objectives for them with associated measurable outcomes:

Crossroads helps students meet these objectives by providing (1) need-based tuition assistance, and (2) wrap-around support programs that enhance academic achievement, promote pro-social behaviors, and draw parents into the task of educating their children. At the heart of this effort are Crossroads’ three full-time counselors who are available to our students and parents twenty-four-seven throughout the year. Counselors shadow our students both in school and out of school. They meet students in the lunchroom, teach them how to study, arrange tutoring and academic remediation. They visit their homes, get to know their parents, engage in family counseling, crisis intervention and parenting help. They gently pull reticent, undereducated parents into the educational process. They act as liaisons between parents and schools, students and teachers, kids and parents, peers and peers. They become adult role models for success, trusted and caring confidantes who are always available and who positively impact student’s lives, both in school and out of school. Crossroads’ counselors provide daily guidance and support so that students mature in responsible ways and stay on task in their personal and academic development.

How We Measure Success

The outcomes of the Crossroads’ approach are extraordinary. While the dropout rate among inner city youth in Pittsburgh is alarming, notably among low income and African Americans students, the efforts of Crossroads has yielded these dramatic outcomes.

By any measure, these are extraordinary outcomes for a high-risk adolescent group. But Crossroads outcomes are especially salient in contrast to recently released statistics for public school students in the City of Pittsburgh, wherein the overall graduation rate is only 56% and the minority graduation rate is an alarming 46% (Pittsburgh Post Gazette; 2004).

Graduation 2005

It is important to remember that these high-achieving Crossroads students all come from low-income families and most are African American. By contrast, income and race appear to be the strongest indicators of low achievement in the Pittsburgh public schools. The recent report from the mayor’s office indicates that 66% of low-income public school students cannot read at grade level and 71% are not proficient in math. The racial gaps in local public education are even more shocking. Whereas 35% of white students cannot read at grade level, the not proficient rate for black students is 69%. In math, 44% of white students are not proficient, whereas 75% of blacks are not proficient. In other words, black students in Pittsburgh public schools are less than half as likely to achieve proficiency in math and reading as their white counterparts (Mayor’s Commission on Public Education: 2003).

Thus, against all demographic odds, Crossroads students graduate from high school, stay out of prison, attend college, embark on promising careers, pay taxes, and many return to Pittsburgh where they are doing remarkable things in their adult lives. Crossroads believes that the effort expended on these young people provides long-term benefits to the quality of life and work force of our local Pittsburgh community. As our post-collegiate students enter the work force, Crossroads is seeing the fruits of its labors. After college, several Crossroads graduates have returned home to Pittsburgh to embark on careers because of the personal connections they have made and the generosity they have experienced from Pittsburghers. This is especially exciting since the Pittsburgh region has been losing well-educated young people to other urban areas. Some Crossroads alumni are now mentoring current Crossroads students, thereby benefiting the community as positive, successful role models for youth.

This is the kind of systemic change that social scientists theorize about and human service providers long for, yet is rarely achieved in real lives. By changing the destinies of at-risk Pittsburgh teenagers, Crossroads is impacting families, communities and the local economy in profound and lasting ways.

Counseling Support Academic Support Leadership/Character Development
Individual counseling: 24-7 accessibility to counselors for students with personal or family struggles, peer issues, academic stress, or school-related issues. What to Expect in High School Workshop for Freshmen: panel workshop that included Crossroads counselors, high school guidance counselors and current students who share reflections and lead discussion. Challenge by Choice: one day adventure in the deep woods for sophomores to build trust, teamwork and communication skills.
Family counseling:  24-7 accessibility to counselors for parents with family crises and/or parenting issues. Freshman Study Skills Workshop: week long workshop includes topics such as time management, note-taking, memory devices, reading strategies, and test-taking skills. Junior Getaway to College: four day summer stay on the Saint Vincent College campus where students are introduced to college life and participate in a variety of leadership building activities.
Partners with Parents Program: home visitations and family assessments of all freshmen, and periodic follow-ups. Math Enrichment Workshop: four week summer Math tutorial for incoming freshmen. Canoeing the Bottom: one day summer canoe trip on the lower Youghiogheny River to provide an up-close look at the river's inhabitants and ecosystem.
Student advocacy: counselors act as liaisons between students/parents and teachers/school personnel. English Enrichment Workshop: four week summer English tutorial for incoming freshmen. High Ropes Challenge Course: one day summer course that works with natural discomfort of heights toexplore issues of perceived risk, and build confidence, self-esteem, trust, and peer dynamics.
Bridge to College Program: counselor escorted visits to various colleges. Introduction to the SAT Seminar: to familiarize juniors with the SAT test and provide good test-taking strategies. Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty: motivational and issue-oriented speaker series that runs throughout the school year.
Project Bright Smile: free orthodontia services provided by local orthodontists to Crossroads students. Princeton Review: intensive five week SAT tutorial to improve students' scores. Urban Violence Seminar: teaches adolescents how to become agents for positive change in their own communities, rather than victims of negative forces that seem beyond their control.
Freshman Orientation Seminar for Parents: summary of Crossroads services for parents/guardians, which centers on challenges to success and importance of parental involvement and support. Designated Scholars: links juniors and seniors with specific career interests to mentors in the business and professional sectors. Student Volunteer Program: upper-classmen must perform 40 hrs. of volunteer service per year to enhance the virtues of integrity, responsibility, compassion, and generosity.
Sophomore Seminar on Volunteerism: for parents and students to reflect on the value of volunteer service and provide information on students' responsibilities in the volunteer environment. Crossing the Digital Divide Program: lends notebook computers to students and provides computer instruction course for students and parents. Star Power Workshop: simulated game that enables freshmen to gain an awareness of personal power and power structures surrounding them.
Junior Year Goal Setting Workshop: for parents/guardians and students to re-focus and re-set goals relative to how they see the future. Includes reflections from former Crossroads graduates. Young Women in Science Program: provides scholarships and mentoring support for two female minority students with aptitude and interest in science. Self-Esteem and Communication Workshop: facilitator provides input, leads exercises, and promotes discussion to build self-esteem and comm. skills.
New Revolution: Saved Sex Program: to encourage healthy relationships, positive self-esteem and personal goal setting relative to teenage sexuality. Tutoring Program: remedial support and tutoring in specific content areas on both regular and emergency bases. Senior Leadership Seminar: explores personal responsibility as a basis for leadership by clarifying and refining personal goals and aspirations as they engage in leadership building activities.
Referrals to other service providers: counselors contact outside agencies who can better serve our students/families with specific problems/issues beyond our scope. Senior College Preparation Seminar: provides families with practical and helpful information regarding college selection, and walks them through the general steps of the application process. Annual Holiday Luncheon: brings students together for a refining dining experience where they hear motivational talks from successful Crossroads graduates who are in college or successful careers.
Copyright © 2005 Crossroads Foundation.