Paul Coffield is a film participant in The First Class, which follows the founding class of Crosstown High in Memphis, TN.
Crosstown’s journey began in 2015 when Memphis parent Ginger Spickler saw a billboard advertising the XQ Super School Challenge with a call to design the high school of the future. She invited teachers, parents, students, local architects, writers, and business owners to join a design team that grew to 69 people. This diverse team gathered input from more than 200 students and hosted community conversations.
After listening and reflecting, the team identified two main goals: community members wanted more engaging and meaningful learning for their students and craved a racially diverse school to reverse the tide of de facto segregation in Memphis. Crosstown High opened in 2018 with a commitment to being “diverse by design” by recruiting students from across Memphis. The modern, lively high school sits inside the Crosstown Concourse—a ten-story, one-million-square-foot landmark redeveloped with more than 40 businesses, nonprofits, health facilities, and civic groups. The public charter school graduated its first class in 2022, and serves about 480 students in grades 9-12.