How a Memphis High School Built a Model for Education From Scratch
A new documentary spotlights Crosstown High in Tennessee, which is trying to radically rethink high school with project-based learning and a diverse student body.
Ninth-grader Terrell on his first day at Crosstown High in Memphis.
Photo credit: XQ Institute
What if high schools didn’t adhere to decades-old standardized curriculums? What if they tried something new to mirror the complexities of the real world?
These are the questions the founders of Crosstown High, a public charter school in Memphis, Tennessee, asked when they initially embarked upon building a radically different type of high school in a segregated and struggling school district. By using a lottery-based system, Crosstown High aims to have a student body that mirrors the diversity of Memphis itself. The school is focused on project-based education, in which students learn through solving real-world problems.