“Never at-risk, always at-promise…the alternative Crossroads to success!”

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Marcella Shaw Dr.Follow

First Presenter's Institution

Crossroads Academy

First Presenter’s Email Address

mshaw@effingham.k12.ga.us

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Marcella Shaw currently serves as a high school code of conduct teacher for Crossroads Academy in Effingham County School District in Rincon, Georgia. This is Shaw’s second year of teaching in ECSD, after retiring from administration in South Carolina. Shaw holds Georgia Professional Standards Commission Certifications in Elementary Education and Educational Leadership. Shaw also holds teacher, literacy, and administrative certifications in South Carolina. Shaw’s experience from 1994 to present includes: teacher (seven years), teacher specialist on site for the SC State Department of Education (one year), assistant principal (three years), principal (four years), Director of Elementary Education (two years), Chief Academic Officer (eight years), and Superintendent of Schools (five years). Shaw is a 1989 graduate of Wade Hampton High School, Hampton, SC. Shaw attended The University of South Carolina, Columbia and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. She furthered her education at Cambridge College in Boston, Massachusetts and received a Master’s degree in Education. The Board of Trustees at South Carolina State University awarded Shaw Education Specialist and Doctoral degrees in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

Second Presenter's Institution

Crossroads Academy

Second Presenter’s Email Address

mhuntley@effingham.k12.ga.us

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Mr. Matt Huntley is currently the Coordinator of Crossroads Academy in Rincon, Georgia, in the Effingham County School District. Crossroads Academy serves as the system’s alternative education program and has two sides; Credit Recovery and Code of Conduct. Mr. Huntley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but moved to Georgia early on in Elementary school. He was raised in Peachtree City, GA where he graduated from McIntosh High School and went on to pursue his degree from Georgia Southern University. While at Georgia Southern University, Mr. Huntley studied History Education and graduated in January of 2006 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in History Education. He started his career at Effingham County High School as a history teacher and a coach in baseball and softball. He continued his education and received his Masters degree in Administration and Supervision in 2009 from the University of Phoenix. Continuing education brought Mr. Huntley back to Georgia Southern University to finish his Education Specialist degree in Teaching and Learning in 2013. In the summer of 2017, Mr. Huntley accepted a position as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at Effingham County High School. He spent six years at the high school before accepting a position at Crossroads Academy taking over as the Coordinator of the program. As a constant learner in the field of education, Mr. Huntley has continued his learning in leadership and is currently working towards his Doctorate of Educational Leadership through Georgia Southern University.

Third Presenter's Institution

Crossroads Academy

Third Presenter’s Email Address

mnedwards@effingham.k12.ga.us

Third Presenter's Brief Biography

Mrs. M. Nicole Davis-Edwards has over 24 years experience in the education profession. A proud alum of Jackson State University, Nicole earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Sciences. She later obtained her Masters degree in Human Service Administration, a Teacher Certification in Middle Grades, an Educational Specialist in Curriculum Instruction, as well as Certification in Educational Leadership. Mrs. Edwards is a native of Chicago, Illinois although she resides in Effingham County, the nucleus of her biological family. Nicole and her husband are blessed with a large family of 4 children and 3 grandchildren.

Fourth Presenter's Institution

Christy Anderson

Fourth Presenter’s Email Address

canderson@effingham.k12.ga.us

Fourth Presenter's Brief Biography

Christy Anderson currently serves middle school code of conduct students at Crossroads Academy in Effingham County School District in Rincon, Georgia. Anderson holds Georgia Professional Standards Commission Certifications in Middle Grades Education Mathematics and Middle Grades English Language Arts. She began her educational career in 2006 working with alternative education students. Christy Anderson is a 2000 graduate of Hawkinsville High School, Hawkinsville, GA. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Science with an emphasis in Community Health and a minor in Child and Family Development degree from Georgia Southern University. Later, she earned her Master's degree in Middle Grades Mathematics from Thomas University as well as a Teacher Leader endorsement.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Vernon

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

Strand Head Work:

Our mission at Crossroads is to ensure that all of our scholars satisfy the “Three E” expectation to exit high school: enrolled, enlisted, or employed. To this end, teacher facilitators must ensure that they strategically and purposefully build in time within their class schedules to properly address the academic and differentiated needs of each scholar as well as devote themselves to the in-depth engagement and involution of the “Three E’s.”

The dynamics of the work achieved at Crossroads is like weaving a tapestry because the teacher facilitators are truly navigating several complexities (academic trajectories, social-emotional, behavioral, post-secondary, and in some cases criminal) to ensure scholar success. Therefore, our academic work must be highly intentional and purposeful. This intense focus on the academics translates into real-time and real-life scholar understanding, investment, and ownership, which in turn leads to the successful attainment of being enrolled, employed, or enlisted. Our 2024 data showed that 1171 high school and 141 middle level credits were earned.

Strand Heart Work:

At Crossroads Academy, our work must be strategic, intentional, and purposeful. Staff and scholars must create very respectful and accountable classroom cultures whereas we

celebrate our uniqueness and our differences. We must honor one another’s voices, and we must value what each of us brings to the table. The development of sound, trusting, and accountable relationships within our classroom families is non-negotiable. The aforementioned tenets all lead to “heart work” at Crossroads Academy and are realized in our learner outcomes to include credits earned, decreased referral rates, and an increase in our graduation rate.

Brief Program Description

In this engaging and interactive session, participants will discover how scholars at Crossroads Academy are defying the odds and Enrolling in post-secondary institutions, attaining gainful Employment, or Enlisting in the armed forces, in fact 100% of the 2024 graduates exited Crossroads Academy with a definitive plan to enroll, employ, or enlist. Facilitators will share innovative, “use the next day” strategies with participants, which helped decrease the referral rate from 2.1% to .963% and bolster the graduation rate from 75.98% to 80%.

Summary

Like Dr. Asa Hilliard, Crossroads faculty and staff are firm believers in educating the whole child: educational, social-emotional, physical, and psychological by developing sincere relationships with scholars. From the work of John Hattie, we know that scholar-teacher relationships is a high yield impact strategy, which yields positive instructional dividends and outcomes as it pertains to instructional practice and measures of academic achievement and scholar growth. Once a reciprocal and sound relationship has been established, backed by rigorous teaching and learning, the sky is truly the limit for the scholar. Further, the Crossroads staff believes that classroom cultures should be engaging, thought provoking, innovative, and one where the teacher is also viewed as a learner, becoming stronger in the areas of instruction, assessment, planning, and professionalism. Thus, the work facilitated at Crossroads, an alternative learning academy, must be intentional, strategic, focused, and purposeful.

To this end, the facilitators will provide a high-level and engaged overview on how the culture at Crossroads Academy is continually transforming into one where students are viewed as scholars who have promise for a better tomorrow. And, in many cases, the trajectory of these scholars' lives is changing the course of their entire family dynamics.

For example, facilitators will share an outline for designing and executing a “College Application Day” in an alternative learning environment because a survey conducted by ACT administered to the class of 2023 revealed that students wanted someone to guide them through the college application process and help them understand the details associated with the process. Therefore, the Crossroads staff tried to outline a very systematic process to ensure a successful inaugural affair, which aligned to its core mission of scholars being Enrolled, Enlisted, or Employed.

The Crossroads team is proud that as an alternative learning academy, high-impact strategies, such as goal-setting, brain-breaks, learning targets, graduate success plans, academic audits, etc. are being employed to yield successful learner outcomes.

Evidence

Research and data are both referenced in program description and summary.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to summarize in their own words the impact relationships have on learner outcomes.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to differentiate differences between ownership and buy-in as it relates to scholars investing in their own learning trajectories.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to create a list of innovative and high-yield strategies, and construct a model graduate success plan relevant to their own scholar needs as it pertains to graduation requirements.

Keyword Descriptors

student-teacher relationships, goal-setting, graduate success, social-emotional learning, brain-breaks, intervention, engagement

Presentation Year

2025

Start Date

3-3-2025 10:15 AM

Recommended Citation

Shaw, Marcella Dr., "“Never at-risk, always at-promise…the alternative Crossroads to success!”" (2025). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 8.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2025/2025/8