do at the Crossing? Our mission statement says we empower struggling students to become contributing members of their communities through academics, job training, and faith based mentoring. Ohhhhh, that. …And how does “that” work, exactly? We empower struggling students. Kids who have a hard time learning in a traditional classroom. Kids who have been bullied. Kids with health problems who struggle with attendance. Kids who don’t have the support at home to thrive, academically or otherwise. We tell these students, you can do this; you’re smarter than you think you are, you’re safe here, you can succeed even with medical issues, you have a family and it’s us. We offer them job training. We teach them skills, give them responsibility and the power to make decisions as part of their experience. We help them discover their natural abilities and provide them with a place to use them. We show them what’s possible. Mostly we listen. And we love. And we peel away those labels they’ve been given. Courtney Bowlds, Campus Administrator of the Fort Wayne Crossing, sat down recently with the online publication INFortWayne to explain what the mission statement looks like day to day. You can check out the video and story here: ]]>