From the view of Room C, the sixth grade homeroom, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the Fanger Center quickly rise from the fields in September into the impressive building that it is today. This is my first year at Crossroads, and I will always associate the construction of the Fanger Center with my initial months in the Crossroads community. As the building began to take shape, beginning as an excavation site, to the construction of the foundation, to the metal beams which soared high, and finally the roof, sheathing, and windows of the structure, so too did my deep appreciation for this special school grow and develop. Throughout my career, I’ve taught in several independent schools, most of which were founded many, many years ago, and I’ve lived through numerous construction projects at the majority of the schools in which I taught. Few, if any, of those projects at my prior schools were as critical to the school’s development, mission, and community as the building of the Fanger Center.
It WILL, in fact, serve as the center of learning for sixth through eighth grade as well as providing a new home for science, which will undoubtedly match the expertise of our science teacher, Dr. Day. Over the past year, it’s been proven that my colleagues were able to create magic in any space they happen to be teaching, whether it was the temporary classrooms in the current middle school building, another teacher’s classroom, or in a makeshift space to accommodate space restrictions due to the pandemic. This flexibility and adaptation is a testament to their craft and skill as master teachers. It is thrilling that the middle school professional community will be able to bring their passion for teaching within the walls of the newly constructed Fanger Center. Perhaps even more thrilling is that the students of the middle school will now have a new and much more permanent space in which to learn. A new home, complete with stunning new classrooms, spacious locker areas, “pull-out” spaces for individualized learning, new science labs, outdoor classrooms, and expansive gathering spaces for assemblies. It couldn’t be a more poignant and important time in the history of Crossroads Academy to be able to walk through the doors of the Fanger Center this coming fall!
