Dear Community,
Crossing staff and students are finding happiness and comfort
in being together at school during this challenging time. We believe that our academic, character, and job training programs need to be in-person and not virtual for students who have struggled in the traditional environment. All of our campuses are open and serving students onsite on a daily basis. Each campus is a place of safety, comfort, learning, hard work, correction, counsel, and HOPE. Thank you for supporting our mission of empowering students who have not historically found success at school.
Speaking of success, the Crossing was recently awarded a State Earn and Learn SEAL from Indiana’s Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship! This means that students in our Arborist programs in Fort Wayne and Elkhart are participating in an innovative competency-based program earning industry certifications and wages while in high school. Each participant graduates with multiple non-poverty job offers in various fields and the HOPE of a bright future and secure career pathway.
The SEAL was presented to our founder and CEO Rob Staley at the annual Elkhart banquet as a bit of a surprise, given that our team went off-script to confer the honor. Matt Presley conferred the SEAL and the audience cheered. Just prior, I shared the process of developing programs at the Crossing and the need for the whole community to work together to build dynamic school-to-work programs. To build a successful program it took the following partners:
- Students
- Staff
- Parents and families
- Donors
- Granters
- Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship
- Governor’s Workforce Cabinet
- School Districts
- Industry partners (High Ground, Tree Servants, J&A Ford)
- TCIA
- Purdue
- Echo Chainsaws
- Morbark Chippers
Let’s gather the community and build a dynamic job training program in your community too!
Thank you for your support.
On mission, Ryan Hill, COO
