Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California)

Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences
Location
1714 21st Street

Santa Monica
,
California

United States
Coordinates34°01′28″N 118°28′26″W / 34.02444°N 118.47389°W / 34.02444; -118.47389
Information
TypePrivate, college preparatory
Opened1971
FounderPaul Cummins, Rhoda Makoff
Head of schoolMariama Richards
GradesK–12
GenderCo-educational
Enrollment1,207
ColorsBlue and Red
  
Athletics conferenceCIF Southern Section
Gold Coast League
NicknameRoadrunners
PublicationKollektiv (academic journal), Dark as Day (literary arts journal)
NewspaperCrossfire
YearbookCrossroads Yearbook
Tuition$46,694 (lower school)
$55,489 (upper school)[1]
Websitehttp://www.xrds.org/

Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences is a K-12 independent, coeducational day-school with two campuses, located a few blocks apart, in Santa Monica, California.[2]

History

Founded in 1971 by Paul Cummins and Rhoda Makoff, Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences opened its doors in the fall of 1971, in three rented rooms in a Baptist church, with an initial enrollment of just over 30 students in seventh and eighth grades.[3] Over the decades, it moved and expanded, now serving around 1,200 students in kindergarten through high school.[4]

Demographics

Crossroads students represent 107 zip codes. 56% of students and 46% of faculty identify as people of color. One in four students receive some form of financial aid through the School’s Affordability Program.[5]

Athletics

Crossroads Upper School participates in a full range of interscholastic athletics as a member of the CIF Southern Section. Teams include baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, cross country, track, golf, and swimming.[6]

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.[7]

In his 2023 biography, 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.[8]

On the Dec. 11, 2025 episode of Amy Poehler’s podcast “Good Hang,” alumna Maya Rudolph said of Crossroads, “It was such a f…g great, creative, cool school. It was so punk and weird and artistic.”[9]

On the Sept. 19, 2024 episode of the podcast “WTF with Marc Maron,” alumnus Jason Ritter said of Crossroads, “I really loved it. … There’s a class where we passed around a stick and talked about our feelings. It forced 14- and 15-year-olds to be like, ‘I guess this is what’s going on inside my heart and brain.’”[10]

On the Mar. 24, 2025 episode of the podcast “The Diary of a CEO,” alumnus Evan Spiegel said about his introduction of the practice of Council at Snap, Inc., “Council is something that I stole from the school that I went to growing up called Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, which is quite a unique school…(Council) really creates an opportunity for people to listen to one another because you're taking turns going around the circle, but you get to know people in a very very different way and I saw how powerful it was…”[11]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Tuition & Fees". Crossroads School. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  2. ^ "Our Campuses". www.xrds.org. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  3. ^ Cummins, Paul F. (2015). Confessions of a Headmaster. Red Hen Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-939096-40-1.
  4. ^ "Quick Facts". www.xrds.org. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  5. ^ "Quick Facts". www.xrds.org. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  6. ^ "Athletics". www.xrds.org. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DiGiacomo, Frank (March 1, 2005). "School for Cool". Vanity Fair.
  8. ^ "Elon Musk blames school for rift with daughter: 'She doesn't want to spend time with me'". Yahoo News. September 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Rudolph, Maya (Guest). “Maya Rudolph”. Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Podcast audio, December 11, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  10. ^ Ritter, Jason (Guest). “Episode 1575”. WTF with Marc Maron. Podcast audio, September 9, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  11. ^ Spiegel, Evan (Guest). “Exact Formula Used to Build a $130 Billion Company! I Said No to $3 B From Mark Zuckerberg”. The Diary of a CEO with Stephen Bartlett. Podcast video, March 24, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  12. ^ a b c d e Andrade, J. A. (September 23, 2008). "With Hollywood looking on, Davis and Croshere honored". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  13. ^ Boucher, Geoff (May 24, 2009). "Keeping Critics at Bay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  14. ^ Corcoran, Monica (May 30, 2004). "A NIGHT OUT WITH: The Like; Prom Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c Schneier, Matthew (May 6, 2016). "The Man Who Would Be Han Solo". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  16. ^ Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (August 5, 2014). "The Entertainers: Mel and Max Brooks". Town & Country. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c "Alumni Who Rock". Xrds.org. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Pressler, Jessica (February 8, 2019). "31 Going on 13". Vulture. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Player Bio: Zack Fleishman - UCLA Official Athletic Site". uclabruins.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Alumni Profiles". Xrds.org. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. ^ Soller, Kurt (August 3, 2018). "Follow the Money (Then Take a Picture)". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  22. ^ Weigle, Lauren (February 22, 2015). "Tanya Haden - Jack Black's Wife". Heavy. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  23. ^ Olshansky, Clara (August 19, 2020). "What you need to know about Simon Helberg's famous parents".
  24. ^ Strachan, Maxwell (October 24, 2018). "Jonah Hill's Love Letter To In-Between Los Angeles". HuffPost. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Becoming ... Kate Hudson". People. May 25, 2004. Retrieved September 8, 2020. 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.
  26. ^ Ganguli, Tania (May 29, 2019). "LeBron James' sons leaving Crossroads for Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  27. ^ Goodman, Jessica (August 22, 2013). "The Definitive Guide To Brody Jenner's Unfortunate Rise To Pop Culture Relevancy". HuffPost. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  28. ^ Mandalit del Barco (March 24, 2017). "'Girls' Producer Jenni Konner: 'I Was Definitely Hired To Be The Grown-Up'". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  29. ^ Roman, Caroline M. (July 29, 2010). "Nobody's Actually From LA? Yeah, Except These 10,000 Famous People". HuffPost.
  30. ^ "Violinist Hahn-Bin has an antidote for 'The Five Poisons'". Los Angeles Times. March 17, 2011.
  31. ^ Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (January 2, 2013). "Zosia Mamet Is Still Getting Used to Being Your New Best Friend". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  32. ^ Grant, Stacey (February 10, 2020). "Who Is Milo Manheim? - Fun Facts About the 'Zombies 2' Star". Seventeen. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  33. ^ "Crossroads' Shareef O'Neal: Making his mark on basketball in L.A." The Orange County Register. February 17, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  34. ^ "Michael Ojo - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  35. ^ "Prodigy, 13, to perform at KCLU anniversary event | www.theacorn.com | The Acorn".
  36. ^ Kaufman, Amy (June 12, 2019). "As the son of rom-com royalty, Jack Quaid is making a name for himself in 'Plus One'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  37. ^ Sutherland, Sam (March 26, 2010). "Days of Whine and Poses". Exclaim!.
  38. ^ Van Grove, Jennifer (November 26, 2013). "Snapchat's Evan Spiegel: Saying no to $3B, and feeling lucky". CNET.
  39. ^ "Jay Sobel and Thea Rogers Are Mr. & Miss Palisades". Palisadian-Post. March 24, 2005.
  40. ^ "What You Didn't Know About Kate Hudson And Liv Tyler's Relationship".
  41. ^ "Twitch". Twitch.
  42. ^ Guthrie, Marisa (June 28, 2011). "Jessica Yellin Named CNN Chief White House Correspondent". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
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