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Crosstown Learning Center has become a beacon in north Tulsa, offering quality educational opportunities for children and their families.
Above all else, you notice their faces.
Your eyes might wander to the vibrant finger paintings tacked to the walls, or you might hear the sound of tiny voices singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in a classroom down the hallway. But your attention always comes back to the smiling faces that fill Crosstown Learning Center.
Some Crosstown students live in foster homes. Some have single parents with minimum-wage jobs. The majority attend the learning center thanks to child-care subsidies from the state Department of Human Services.
Regardless of the situations outside of Crosstown Learning Center, within the former church’s walls, all students receive the same opportunities for learning. And all have smiling faces.
“Crosstown is that uncut diamond that sits north of Admiral,” Executive Director Debbi Guilfoyle says. “We have a tremendous legacy in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood.”
That legacy began 40 years ago this past September. Within the last decade, much has changed for the center. Starting as an outreach of Second Presbyterian Church, in 2000, Crosstown was licensed as a nonprofit organization and became the first nationally accredited child-care center in north Tulsa. In 2005, the center moved into a 24,000-square-foot, three-story building equipped with 10 classrooms and a cafeteria. A gross motor skills room was added in 2009.
Even with all this change, a focus on providing quality child care and education has remained constant throughout the past four decades. Today, Crosstown uses curriculum-based learning and assists enrollees to learn by playing.
However, education is not the only necessary component for a child’s success story, Guilfoyle says.
“We have wonderful families doing incredible work with their kids, trying to balance minimum-wage jobs with quality family time as well,” she says. “Our community is only as strong as the families that make it up; our children are only as strong as the families they come from. In order for Tulsa to continue to succeed, we’ve got to continue to support our families.”
For that reason, Crosstown also offers parent support groups, which feature guest speakers who discuss topics ranging from children’s health to fire safety. 
“I’ve heard from families directly that we don’t only meet the needs of the children, but we meet the needs of the family,” says Erin Timmons, who assists with Crosstown’s family support services. “You know your child is being cared for here, but you can also come here and find out how to get a higher education for yourself as a single mom or get help finding a job.”
With 76 children at Crosstown, ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years, along with the services offered to their families, the center needs its devoted staff, including 20 teachers.
“We watch these children grow from infants to when they put a backpack on and go to kindergarten, which is pretty incredible,” Guilfoyle says.
One teacher has seen 36 different groups of children graduate from Crosstown, and other teachers have been there for decades. Two staff members have master’s degrees, seven have bachelor’s degrees and seven more are working toward a bachelor’s degree.
Of course, Crosstown faces its share of difficulties. When Guilfoyle is asked what keeps her dedicated staff members at Crosstown when they are not promised a hefty paycheck, she is quick to respond.
“All you have to do is walk down the hall and look in the classrooms and you’ll get the answer,” she says. “They’re here because this is where their hearts are.”
Shauna Meador says this kind of dedication is what has kept her sons excited about going to Crosstown.
“They’re always eager to tell me about their day,” Meador says.
Meador’s oldest son, Jenson, earned his bragging rights when he recently joined the 40 years’ worth of Crosstown graduates. Her youngest son, Ian, enrolled at Crosstown in July.
Guilfoyle says she hopes to see many more children follow in Jenson and Ian’s footsteps.
“We have huge challenges ahead — not just financial, but in maintaining and helping families as they see their lives complicated by job losses and a staggering economy,” Guilfoyle says. “I hope that we’ll always provide a place where children understand that they’re loved.”
It’s in the bag
Crosstown Learning Center will host its premier fund-raising event, the third annual Old Bags Luncheon, this month. The event, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Nov. 12, at Southern Hills Country Club, features a silent auction of about 300 handbags, with all proceeds benefiting Crosstown. The auction will include designer purses from Prada, Judith Leiber, Coach and Escada; purses once owned by celebrities; and vintage beaded evening bags. Donated bags are still being accepted at Crosstown Learning Center. A raffle will feature gift cards and gift baskets donated by Tulsa businesses. Tickets are $125 per person and table sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Andrea Hutchinson, 582-1457, ext. 104, or visit www.crosstowntulsa.org.
