Cross Principal Adapts To Overenrolled School

Wilbur Cross Principal Matt Brown has a math problem to solve: 

How do you lead a school where the building’s capacity is for 1,300 students, its enrollment tops 1,700, and the number of students who actually show up to class each day is somewhere in between — given the district’s persistent struggles with chronic absenteeism? 

Brown’s answers: Get creative, share classrooms, celebrate student diversity, and encourage a sense of belonging and school pride among students and teachers alike at New Haven’s largest public school.

During a recent interview with the Independent, Brown talked through some of the challenges, opportunities, and joys of leading Wilbur Cross, 16 months since stepping into the role of principal. He also discussed his goals ahead and many lessons learned as the 2023 – 24 school year — his first full year helming Cross — draws to a close. 

But first, before Brown could weigh in on any of those matters when this reporter arrived at the 181 Mitchell Dr. school for an interview, Cross senior Justin Arroyo popped into Brown’s office to show off a suit he tried on for prom. Brown helped Arroyo fold his pocket square for the first suit he’s ever worn and first dance he’s been to since eighth grade. 

Arroyo is one of Cross’s 1,755 enrolled students. That number keeps growing and growing and growing. On the day of this interview, Cross enrolled three new students. Brown said student enrollment is expected to reach 1,800 next school year. 

In recent years, as the school’s enrollment has climbed, Cross has celebrated the diverse backgrounds that students bring to the East Rock school’s hallways while also facing several challenges that come with being overenrolled. 

Many of Cross’ newcomers are students immigrating to New Haven from Central and South American countries. Cross has developed new courses in recent years to welcome newcomers into the school community and prepare each student with necessary life skills. Click here to read a story about one of those new courses.

All Of New Haven In One Lunch Line

Brown said that Cross’ rising student population is a strength for the school community, as it allows students to gain exposure to a variety of diverse backgrounds that reflect the city’s growing population. The influx, however, does add to the school’s preexisting challenges with having enough financial resources to support the East Rock high school. 

Brown said the state Department of Education has an Oct. 1 enrollment deadline that doesn’t allow for schools like Cross to receive increased financial support to provide resources for students who enroll after that deadline. That is, even as the school’s student population grows over the course of the school year, its funding doesn’t necessarily increase along with it.

Brown said that the growing student population has allowed for Cross to have the ​“make up of New Haven found in a single lunch line.” This has been a strength Cross is building on to teach students a lesson in the power of differences, Brown said.

While this has also presented challenges, he said, district leadership has been supportive in allowing the school to add five new teaching positions last school year to meet the demand. 

As a result of the growing student and teacher population, nearly every educator currently shares a classroom to ensure enough space to support the students’ needs. Brown added that it has become important for the school to be creative while utilizing its space because ​“while we’ve gotten more teachers, we haven’t added more space.”

Brown — who previously worked as High School in the Community’s building leader and as chief turnaround officer in Waterbury’s public school district – said that Cross’ building was built with a capacity for 1,300 students. That means the school exceeded that capacity by more than 400 students as of this reporter’s interview on May 16.

Daily attendance data shows that not all 1,700 students are usually in the building at once, Brown said. He described this as a ​“twin challenge”: while there is an overenrollment of students, the school building typically does not feel full because of chronic absenteeism rates.

Brown said this means ​“the job of the teacher has never been harder.” 

Educators are required to prepare for all of their enrolled students to come to class. This is difficult for educators who must build out a classroom that has space for every student, whether it be a student with perfect attendance or a student who has missed weeks of school. Brown said Wilbur Cross’s strategy to tackle chronic absenteeism is to provide students with a school building full of opportunities to connect with people and programs that care about their growth. 

This school year is Brown’s first full year since he stepped into his role in January 2023. Now having nearly completed a full year on the job, Brown said he’s come to better understand the rhythm of the city’s largest high school. Brown was Cross’ fourth principal in a six-month period. 

Brown has been able to see the complex workings of the comprehensive high school, from security guards setting up scan stations and cafeteria staff preparing breakfast in the early mornings, to custodians working night shifts and teachers and paraprofessionals staying after school for long work days. 

The past 16 months on the job have reminded Brown of how education and students’ needs have changed over time. Brown said that Cross’s goal is to ​“help kids prepare for a world that keeps changing so fast,” one example being the rise of brand new tech like the artificial intelligence-powered ChatGPT. He emphasized the need to have a community conversation about how schools can adequately prepare students for the challenges of the modern world. 

With just over a year and a half on the job, Brown said he’s witnessed the shortcomings of traditional educational approaches that have resulted in chronic absenteeism and disengagement. Cross is working to increase its social, academic, and mental enrichment opportunities to get students to come to school, keep them in class, and help them thrive.

More Opportunity = Students Making Good Choices

Cross has also been expanding the school’s career pathway academies over the past year, in hopes of preparing students for an ever-changing job market. These career pathways offer students the chance to earn college credits through dual enrollment at local universities, and students can receive certifications and training in different industries like teaching, nursing, and manufacturing.

Brown said that introducing all students to a variety of career pathways might lower absenteeism rates because the introduction to relevant careers can encourage students to attend school — physically and mentally.

Cross has expanded its number of college and career opportunities and now offers a total of 1,000 seats for students to take advantage of AP courses or early college and dual enrollment opportunities. Offerings range from advanced automotive and manufacturing courses to EMT and CNA certification programs 

Brown added that, this year, Cross also shifted its design of its homeroom periods to encourage educators to meet with students one-on-one and provide students with daily support and check-ins. 

Connecting students with at least one caring adult, Brown said, can help students feel more connected to the school community. ​“It can feel really big here, so we want them to find a positive peer group to navigate,” he said. ​“A homeroom teacher can help with that. Showing a student where they can make good choices — like in a culinary group, band, sports, theatre — can get kids to connect with something and make good choices.” 

He continued that when students are involved in teams, clubs, and programs, students have more accountability and structure beyond the school day, and the chance to do something larger than themselves. He described this as a ​“pretty strong formula for success,” particularly for first-year students transitioning to the new structure of high school.

Brown plans to continue figuring out how to provide more resources and help students feel connected to Cross.

Another creative effort introduced this school year to support educators and students came thanks to the school’s active Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO), which raised $25,000 last year. Those funds were used to offer staff and students with mini grants of up to $500 to directly support specific goals like starting a student-led juicing club and a teacher-led Middle Eastern cooking class. 

This also helped educators support classroom field trips and other efforts of interest within the school community. 

Other challenges Cross is still working to come up with creative solutions to are related to budgetary needs to provide all Cross students with Chromebooks, enough teachers, and functioning facilities like bathrooms. 

This is the first school year since the Covid pandemic that Cross has not been able to offer each of its students a personal Chromebook for Google Classroom, which the district implemented during the pandemic. Brown said that this is a result of the school not having the budget to purchase computers for all students. 

He concluded that resources ​“exploded during Covid,” but the Covid-era financial support is no longer available.

Click here to read a recent interview with Hillhouse’s new principal, Antoine Billy, as he wraps up his first few months leading the city’s second largest public high school.