# Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California)

Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences is a private/independent, college preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, United States. The school is a former member of the G20 Schools Group.

## History

The school was founded in 1971 as a secular institution affiliated with St. Augustine By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica. Although the founders, and many of the school's original students, came from the former St. Augustine By-the-Sea Episcopal Day School in Santa Monica, Crossroads School has always been a secular institution. Crossroads started with three rooms in a Baptist church offering grades seven and eight, and an initial enrollment of just over 30 students. The name Crossroads was suggested by Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", in which Frost writes:
   Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I,
   I took the one less traveled by,
   And that has made all the difference.
As St. Augustine's grew to junior and senior high school, the founders started Crossroads with a separate board of directors and separate campus, which eventually merged in the 1980s under the name Crossroads. Co-founder Paul Cummins became the first headmaster and served until 1995.

## In the media

The 2004 book Hollywood, Interrupted, by Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner, dedicated a large section to Crossroads; it depicted the school (and the celebrities who send their children there) in a negative light, focusing mainly on a handful of high-profile parents and "drug problems" stemming from the 1980s. The school was also featured in a May 2005 issue of Vanity Fair; like Breitbart's book, it also focused on the school's celebrity clientele.
Elon Musk alleges that Crossroads teaches “full-on communism,” and blames his daughter's transition, alleged communist ideology, and decision to cut him out of her life on Crossroads in his upcoming biography.

## Notable alumni

* J. A. Adande, sports journalist
* Maude Apatow, actress
* Sean Astin, actor, director and producer
* Henry Baum, writer, blogger and musician
* Michael Bay, film director and producer
* Z Berg, musician
* Jack Black, actor, comedian, and musician
* Max Brooks, actor and author
* Gary Coleman, actor, comedian, and writer
* Austin Croshere, NBA basketball player and TV broadcaster
* Baron Davis, NBA basketball player and TV commentator
* Emily Deschanel, actress, director and producer
* Zooey Deschanel, actress, model, and singer-songwriter
* Alden Ehrenreich, actor
* Maya Erskine, actress and TV writer
* Zack Fleishman, professional tennis player
* Robert Francis, musician
* Nicole Gibbs, professional tennis player
* Lauren Greenfield, artist, photographer, and filmmaker
* Petra Haden, musician and singer
* Rachel Haden, musician
* Tanya Haden, artist, cellist, and singer
* Simon Helberg, actor, comedian and musician
* Jonah Hill, actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian
* Oliver Hudson, actor
* Kate Hudson, actress, author, and fashion entrepreneur
* Bronny James, basketball player
* Brody Jenner, television personality, disc jockey and model
* Jenni Konner, television writer, producer and director
* Alex Kurtzman, film and television writer, producer, and director
* Alexandra Kyle, actress
* Zosia Mamet, actress and musician
* Milo Manheim, actor
* Shareef O'Neal, basketball player
* Roberto Orci, film and television writer and producer
* Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, businesswoman and author
* Amy Pascal, business executive and film producer
* Austin Peralta, jazz musician
* Whitney Port, television personality and fashion designer
* Jack Quaid, actor
* Jason Ritter, actor and producer
* Maya Rudolph, actress, comedian, singer, and voice actress
* Tamir Saban (born 1999), American-Israeli basketball player
* Blake Schwarzenbach, musician
* Evan Spiegel, businessman, co-founder of Snapchat
* Dayna Tortorici, writer
* Liv Tyler, actress and former model
* Andrew von Oeyen, classical musician
* Gillian Welch, musician
* Jessica Yellin, journalist