Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California)

History

The school was founded in 1971 as a secular institution affiliated with St. Augustine By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica. The name Crossroads was suggested by Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", in which Frost writes:

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.

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.

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, and musician
• 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
• Michael Ojo, basketball player
• Roberto Orci, film and television writer and producer
• Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, businesswoman and author
• Amy Pascal, business executive and film producer
• Austin Peralta, jazz musician
• 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
• Vivian Wilson, daughter of Elon Musk
• Jessica Yellin, journalist
• Harley Viera-Newton, model and DJ

References

References

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25. (2018-02-17). "Crossroads' Shareef O'Neal: Making his mark on basketball in L.A.". [[The Orange County Register]].
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