MCS brings faith-based alternative high school to Muncie as option for potential dropouts

MUNCIE, Ind. − Muncie Community Schools has partnered with a faith-based academy to provide an alternative high school for Muncie students.

The Crossing School of Business & Entrepreneurship began classes last month in the former Muncie Area Career Center on Elgin Street south of McGalliard Road. The school, which started in the Goshen area 20 years ago, now has nine campuses in addition to Muncie.

The Crossing teaches "self-paced" classes along with on-the-job training with area employers, said Zack Durnell, regional director of the alternative high school. It also offers faith-based character building activities for students.

More: Muncie career center to become school for nontraditional learning

The Crossing's website says the school is: "Empowering struggling students to become contributing members of their communities through academics, job training, and faith-based character education."

The school encourages students to pursue spirituality but, Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, CEO of MCS, said the Crossing is not heavily religious, as a parochial school might be, and it also allows students to remove themselves from faith-related activities.

Prayer permitted in The Crossing classrooms

Durnell said the school seeks to "model Christian principles" for the students and offers a period during school called God talk, which students can discuss spiritual matters. Prayer is permitted in the school.

Kwiatkowski said MCS students at The Crossing are still considered students of Muncie Central High School.

The Crossing has provided faith-based instruction while working with public schools for two decades. Durnell said that families of students sign a waiver allowing the school to discuss spiritual matters in class, which has allowed The Crossing to avoid legal problems involving church-state separation.

The school seeks to teach a sense of accountability to students, he said.

State-funded instruction

Funding for the the school comes comes from the state allocation for each child enrolled at The Crossing, minus a small amount kept by MCS, Durnell said. MCS has identified 40 students to contact about enrollment. The families of students must agree to the placement.

Last week Durnell said about 20 students had signed up for the classes.

Kwiatkowski said The Crossing will be another option for students who have difficulty succeeding in traditional classes. MCS also provides the Muncie Virtual Academy, which allows students to take online courses in a flexible schedule instead of in-school coursework. MCS strives to personalize instruction in ways that promote success for each student.

Still some fall behind and want to drop out of school, she said. The Crossing is a way of saving students from the consequences of being a high school drop out as the students actually work with employers.

Faculty available for 'family time,' when students chat about life

Kwiatkowski said that she became familiar with The Crossing when she worked for the Indiana Department of Education.

"I saw they were doing great work," she said.

Durnell said that small classes allow more individual work with students, some of whom do not have the best family situations at home but can develop "family time" at school where the students can chat about life with faculty as support.

The Crossing works with MCS to assure meals are available at the school building at 2500 N. Elgin St. and the school itself is on at MITS bus line.

Off the campus, the school imbeds students with a local business, he said, to provide training and a pathway to a job after graduation. Mad Jax in Muncie is now working with the Crossing.

The school employs three teachers but is prepared to add faculty as needed, he said.

"We will grow staff," Durnell said.

Independent students living in the county school districts as well as students from surrounding counties are welcome to enroll at the school, he said, and can receive a high school diploma from The Crossing rather than a local high school.

Durnell said the school is continuing to recruit businesses willing to take on the students for training. Interested employers can call him at (765) 606-1588.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie's The Crossing a faith-based, alternative school for students