Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California)

**Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences** is a private, K–12, 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,
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> I took the one less traveled by,
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>
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> And that has made all the difference.
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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.

## 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, musician, and YouTube personality
* 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
* 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

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>DiGiacomo, Frank (March 1, 2005). "School for Cool". Vanity Fair.
2. ↑ [1] Template:Webarchive
3. ↑ https://authorpaulcummins.com/about
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Andrade, J. A. (September 23, 2008). With Hollywood looking on, Davis and Croshere honored. *ESPN.com*.
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Boucher, Geoff (May 24, 2009). "Keeping Critics at Bay". *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
6. ↑ Corcoran, Monica (2004-05-30). A NIGHT OUT WITH: The Like; Prom Queens. *The New York Times*.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Schneier, Matthew (May 6, 2016). "The Man Who Would Be Han Solo". *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
8. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Alumni Who Rock.
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Pressler, Jessica (February 8, 2019). "31 Going on 13". *Vulture*. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
11. ↑ Player Bio: Zack Fleishman - UCLA Official Athletic Site.
12. ↑ Alumni Profiles.
13. ↑ Soller, Kurt (2018-08-03). Follow the Money (Then Take a Picture). *The New York Times*.
14. ↑ Weigle, Lauren (22 February 2015). Tanya Haden - Jack Black's Wife. Heavy.
15. ↑ Olshansky, Clara (2020-08-19). What you need to know about Simon Helberg's famous parents.
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Strachan, Maxwell (October 24, 2018). "Jonah Hill's Love Letter To In-Between Los Angeles". *HuffPost*. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
17. ↑ Becoming ... Kate Hudson. *People* (2004-05-25). "In 1997, Hudson graduated from Santa Monica's Crossroads School, where students participate in performing arts and community service in addition to taking traditional classes."
18. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Ganguli, Tania (May 29, 2019). "LeBron James' sons leaving Crossroads for Sierra Canyon". *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
19. ↑ Goodman, Jessica (2013-08-22). The Definitive Guide To Brody Jenner's Unfortunate Rise To Pop Culture Relevancy. *HuffPost*.
20. ↑ Mandalit del Barco (2017-03-24). 'Girls' Producer Jenni Konner: 'I Was Definitely Hired To Be The Grown-Up'. NPR.
21. ↑ Roman, Caroline M. (2010-07-29). Nobody's Actually From LA? Yeah, Except These 10,000 Famous People. *HuffPost*.
22. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
23. ↑ Grant, Stacey (February 10, 2020). Who Is Milo Manheim? - Fun Facts About the 'Zombies 2' Star.
24. ↑ Crossroads' Shareef O'Neal: Making his mark on basketball in L.A.. *The Orange County Register* (2018-02-17).
25. ↑ Kaufman, Amy (2019-06-12). As the son of rom-com royalty, Jack Quaid is making a name for himself in ‘Plus One’. *Los Angeles Times*.
26. ↑ Sutherland, Sam (2010-03-26). Days of Whine and Poses. *Exclaim!*.
27. ↑ Van Grove, Jennifer (2013-11-26). Snapchat's Evan Spiegel: Saying no to $3B, and feeling lucky. *CNET*.
28. ↑ Jay Sobel and Thea Rogers Are Mr. & Miss Palisades. *Palisadian-Post* (2005-03-24).
29. ↑ What You Didn't Know About Kate Hudson And Liv Tyler's Relationship.
30. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Guthrie, Marisa (June 28, 2011). "Jessica Yellin Named CNN Chief White House Correspondent". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved July 6, 2011.

## External links

* Crossroads School Website

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