Sometimes, all you need to know about a person is one fact.
One accomplishment from a person’s life can often reveal a lot about who they are, and how they approach the world.
Will Cross, Assistant Principal for Grades 7-9.
For new Sto-Rox Assistant Principal Will Cross, that feat may just be trekking to the South Pole.
“There’s no logical reason to want to do that,” he said last week during an interview in his office. “But I did.”
It took him 18 months to put together an expedition. He and three other participants walked 720 miles, pulling 200-pound sleds in temperatures reaching 40-degrees below zero. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, though.
“The challenge was that I have diabetes,” he explained. “Insulin is a medication I depend on. If it freezes, you die. That simple.”
No person with diabetes had ever done something like Cross’ trek. He didn’t stop in Antarctica, either. He later trekked to the North Pole and the highest mountains in the world.
It’s a series of impressive feats. So what is he doing in Sto-Rox, leading 7th, 8th and 9th graders?
“I was intrigued by the challenge,” he said. “I’ve been teaching in Pittsburgh for many years at different types of schools, usually dealing with very difficult children and difficult situations.”
The way Cross sees it, he developed the skills for this position over a two-decade career in education (with about 15 years off in-between for his wordly exploits).
“It’s not data, it’s behavior. And there’s really only one way to change behavior,” he said. “That’s on-the-ground, face-to-face, person-to-person.”
Cross said it takes time, trust and relationships to affect behavior across an entire school. That’s reflected in one of his long-term goals.
“My understanding of Sto-Roxm in terms of attendance and behavior and academics, is that we sort of float in the 80-percent (range). The goal is to get to the 90-percents. That is not going to happen in one year.”
When the numbers rise, Cross said that will show students, teachers - even parents - are buying into what the district is doing each day.
Cross knows what it’s like to change attitudes and minds in all kinds of conditions. His first teaching job was teaching children - outside - at the Eckerd Academy in Tennessee.
“They were so violent they couldn’t be in the school,” he remembered. “We lived outside, 24 hours a day, all together, cooking our food, constructing the cabins we lived in. The math was on the building (of the cabins), the English was in the recipes. It was pretty fun.”
Will Cross, working with students in his office at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School.
A native of the United Kingdom, he came to the U.S. and went to school at Allegheny College, where he earned a B.A. in History. He later continued his schooling at Duquesne University (Masters of Education) and the University of Pittsburgh (Administration). Throughout his career, he has circled back to so-called “troubled children.” Teaching can be a difficult and stressful job, even under the best of circumstances. Why does he keep coming back to it - and these students - even after climbing mountains?
“It made more sense to me,” he said without hesitation. “They have great imaginations and problem solving skills. They apply them in different ways than regular people do. Those are the skills they’ve learned to keep them alive and to get them to school. It’s worked for them.”
He continued, “Coming to school, the challenge for a student who’s learning a whole new repertoire of emotional skills, receiving information, giving information respectfully without threatening… it’s foreign. For them, it’s like learning a foreign language.”
While the language may be different, the ground rules are easy to understand.
“We know what goes on (out) there and we know it’s difficult. However, it does not go on, in here. Because all of us adults and children - and in particular, parents - need to know their child is looked after. Regardless of their history.”
That statement translates into immediate goals for Cross.
“I want clear hallways,’ said Cross. “That shows children are transitioning properly, that they’re in class on time, and that they respect one another. (That) they can move through the hallways without getting into a fight.”
It’s a simple goal, but it’s one that should not be overlooked, now or in the future.
“It’s where all the grades and all the conflicts are in a common area,” he said, likening hallways to the cafeteria and the gym. “If you can’t transition at school, you’re not going to be able to transition at work.”
The second goal is all about respect between staff and students. Cross said it’s off to a good start.
“I have been gobsmacked by the commitment of this staff of how welcoming they have been to me and of the grit they have shown to put up with the last… the last ten years have not been easy by any stretch of the imagination.”
Once the early goals are out of the way, Cross will settle in for a long and challenging journey. Fortunately for Sto-Rox - that’s something he’s familiar with succeeding at.
***
NOTE: Mike Duca, who previously held this role, isn’t going anywhere! He will remain at the Jr./Sr. High School teaching English.