Chris McGrath

Chris McGrath, District Textbook Coordinator

"This has been a long process," Crossroads Learning Center Principal Chris McGrath said Sept. 7 when the school opened its doors for a grand opening.
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"We can make a huge difference in the lives of students," McGrath said."This is a place for teens to feel a part.
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McGrath, former assistant principal at Hughes Middle School, took over at Crossroads Learning Center this summer.

This is not McGrath¹s first crack at working in an alternative school.The Crowley High School graduate taught in the Boys Town Behavioral Model (seventh grade to 12th grade) in Crowley for five years, working daily with students on conflict/resolution strategies as well as math and social skills."Working with at-risk youth has always been something I¹ve felt very strongly about," McGrath said."I wanted to try to fill whatever need that student was missing.These are not bad kids.The child has made a bad choice and there are consequences, but you have to separate that action from the child and still know and care about them and value them as people.Here, people aren¹t just numbers or a percentage" McGrath said of the BISD.
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"Sometime we get kids in here who say they hear it¹s a pretty cool place, you can do your own thing, be left alone, and that it¹s easier," McGrath said."It¹s not easier.
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McGrath said.
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If they have 17 credits to graduate, that¹s immense," McGrath said."But we take one day at a time."The staff focuses on getting to know each student."You need to be in there and making that personal connection," McGrath said."When you do that, the kids will bend over backwards."The effect that one-on-one contact has on Crossroads students is evident at graduation."At graduation, each student has the opportunity to give a flower to a person who means the most to them.A lot of them give those flowers to a teacher," McGrath said.

McGrath said the paybacks come in the form of former students who return and tell a staff member that they made a difference."That¹s why we¹re here," McGrath said.