Education Strategies for Success. Cross & Joftus provides expert advice and assistance to education leaders in governments, foundations, corporations, think tanks, school districts, and advocacy organizations. Our tailored support enhances education reforms by helping clients develop effective policies, evaluate programs, plan strategically, and use best practices. READ MORE ABOUT CROSS & JOFTUS

Building Success: A Systems Approach to Serving Students with Disabilities

C&J recently held a webinar about our special education work with states, charter management organizations, districts, and schools. Review the webinar presentation and learn more. Learn more

Evaluation shows that Kansas Learning Network (KLN) is contributing to an increase in student achievement

Two recent evaluations found that on average, students in KLN districts and schools consistently increased achievement scores on state reading and math assessments at a faster pace than students in non-KLN districts.

Cross & Joftus assists Hawaii Department of Education in developing employee performance/evaluation system

With our partner UPD, we are leveraging our many years of experience in classroom walkthroughs to help HDE in its efforts around teacher evaluation and improvement. Read more

Cross & Joftus to assist Camden, NJ Board of Education create a Strategic Plan

C&J and UPD will recommend a strategic plan for the city of Camden incorporating research, programming recommendations, financial modeling, data systems and use analysis, and facilities planning. Read more

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FOCUS AREAS

Your team has been a very effective critical friend to Highland Park and has been instrumental in the turn-around. We continue to be amazed at the progress they are making.

Julie Ford, Superintendent of Schools, Topeka, Kansas

Christopher T. Cross

Christopher T. Cross is chairman of the education policy consulting firm Cross & Joftus, where he contributes his considerable strategic planning, policy analysis, and development skills. Cross also serves as a consultant to the Broad Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Previously, he was a senior fellow with the Center for Education Policy and a distinguished senior fellow with the Education Commission of the States.

From 1994 to 2002, Cross was president and chief executive officer of the Council for Basic Education (CBE). Before joining CBE, he served as director of the education initiative of The Business Roundtable and as assistant secretary for educational research and improvement in the U.S. Department of Education.

He chaired the National Assessment of Title I Independent Review Panel on Evaluation for the U.S. Department of Education from 1995 to 2001 and the National Research Council Panel on Minority Representation in Special Education from 1997 to 2002. Currently, Cross chairs the National Research Council Panel on Early Childhood Mathematics. He is on the Board of Trustees of Whittier College. He also serves on the board of The New Teacher Project and the board of EdSource. In March 2002, Cross guided the negotiated rulemaking process on Title I for the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2001, he completed a six-year term on the Board of International Comparative Studies in Education for the National Research Council. In addition, he chaired the National Council for Education and Humanities Development of The George Washington University from its inception in 2000 through 2002. Cross served as president of the Maryland State Board of Education from 1994 to 1997 and was a member from 1993 to 1997. He also was a member of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning.

Cross has written extensively on education and other public policy areas and has been published in numerous professional journals and newspapers, including Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, The College Board Review, The Washington Post, the Sacramento Bee, and the Los Angeles Times. He co-authored an article, "Systems, not Superheroes," published in the winter 2008 edition of the American Association of School Administrators' Journal of Scholarship and Practice.

His book, Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age, is on the people and events shaping federal K-12 education policy from the time of the Eisenhower Administration through the passage of the 2001 amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It was published in November 2003 by Teachers College Press. Cross is also the co-editor of Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education, published in 2002 by National Academies Press. He has lectured on American education issues in Japan, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

Cross has a bachelor of arts degree from Whittier College and a master of arts degree in government from California State University, Los Angeles.

Download Christopher T. Cross's Resume

August 3, 2009

Cross & Joftus Approved by California Department of Education as Service Provider for Low-Performing Districts
Cross & Joftus, a national education consulting firm, has been approved by the California Department of Education as a provider of district assistance intervention services under a state program that provides targeted assistance to school districts that have been placed in program improvement (PI) status.

Under that program, districts in PI status may work with an authorized service provider such as Cross & Joftus to assist the district in examining and evaluating current practices, identifying and prioritizing the major needs of the district, and then helping to implement supports and actions that target identified needs. The goal is to assist the district to exit program improvement status. The effort is supported with federal dollars under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Cross & Joftus Chairman Christopher T. Cross said, "With this award and the recent award of a contract by the State of Kansas to be the exclusive provider of school and district improvement services in that state, Cross & Joftus has become nationally recognized as a strategic partner with states and districts in supporting their efforts to solve a critical national social issue, the turnaround of low-performing districts and schools." Cross also noted that the firm has been active in California as the manager of the California Student Success Project and in developing an on-line resource for teachers on behalf of the California Department of Education. (For more information, please visit www.edstrategies.net.)

With offices in California, Maryland, and Virginia, Cross & Joftus recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Current and past clients have included the Bill & Melinda Gates and Hewlett foundations, the United Way, the National Governors Association, the Pittsburgh (PA) Public Schools, the City of Philadelphia, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools, and the Education Commission of the States.

For additional information contact Christopher T. Cross at chris@edstrategies.net, Alice Parker at alice@edstrategies.net or Joan Evans at joan@edstrategies.net.

Sharon Deich

Sharon Deich is vice president of the education policy consulting firm Cross and Joftus, where she focuses on education financing issues and change management. She also is expert in coupling after-school programming and traditional education reforms to improve student achievement.

Prior to joining the firm, she spent two decades in the nonprofit sector honing her research, policy, and technical assistance skills. During this time, she worked with federal agencies, state government leaders, city officials, and foundation initiative leaders on issues related to early care, K-12 education, after-school programming, and related education reform efforts.

From 1997 to 2007, Deich served as an associate director for The Finance Project, where she authored numerous briefs and reports on the financing of human services programs and provided technical assistance and expert facilitation to organizations looking to scale up and sustain promising initiatives. During this period, she also served on numerous advisory boards, including one for a joint project of the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Conference of State Legislatures to expand extra learning opportunities as a way to improve student success.

Before joining The Finance Project, Deich spent 15 years researching and evaluating programs that support low-income children and families. Her prior experience includes work for the American Institutes for Research, where she worked closely with the Head Start Bureau to revise performance standards and the training and technical assistance system. She also spent six years working at the Urban Institute, where she was a contributing researcher and author for the National Child Care Study.

Deich earned her bachelor's degree in economics from The State University of New York at Albany and earned her master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan.

Download Sharon Deich's Resume

Heather Clapp Padgette

Heather Clapp Padgette is a senior consultant with Cross & Joftus and has worked on topics such as high school reform and ways to finance summer learning opportunities. Padgette previously worked at The Finance Project, where she focused on out-of-school time, charter schools, and comprehensive school reform initiatives. She has authored several articles and provided direct technical assistance to state agencies and community organizations to help them identify financial and other resources to help sustain and expand programming. In former positions, Padgette has consulted with school districts and state policymakers on special education and childre's health services. She also worked on education reform issues for Chicago Public Schools and the Consortium on Chicago School Research. Padgette received a master's degree in public policy from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at The University of Chicago.