Meet Barb Bulthuis | Crossroads School Executive Director and Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barb Bulthuis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barb, every day, we talk about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My friend and co-founder, Connie Nourse, and I are both adoptive parents who have seen first-hand that some kids just don’t “fit” in traditional public schools. At one point in 2009, she said to me, “we should just start our own school for these kids,” to which I responded, “let’s do it!” We started talking about what that would look like, we connected with others who could help us figure out the details, and ten months later Crossroads School was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Crossroads School is focused on meeting the needs of students who are falling through the cracks in traditional schools, for a whole variety of reasons. Our mantra is, “If kids don’t learn the way we teach, then we will teach the way they learn!”

In 2010, we opened our doors with only 4 students; by the end of that year, we had 8; by the end of the second year, we had 16; by the end of the third year, we started a waiting list. There was plenty of need for an alternative for kids from hard places!

While my co-founder, Connie Nourse, runs the school, my job is to spread the word in the community, both to find students who need us and to raise funds for the school to operate. I believe the key to success in this, and in most everything, is relationships. My favorite approach is to meet with someone, share about the school, find out if they’re interested in connecting or getting involved in some way, and then asking who they know that I should be talking to and getting an introduction to those people. Now, after 14 years, I am well-known in our town and often get calls from people looking to connect about the school–or looking for advice or other referrals. By building and maintaining these relationships, I build trust, which affects not only how they think of me but how they think of Crossroads School.

Private and public schools are often at odds, but I have worked hard to build positive relationships with our local school district and the individuals in it, from the Superintendent to the Principals to the Counselors and Teachers. I tell them as often as I can that I respect them, that I believe they are doing great work against high odds, and that we don’t want to compete with them–we just want to help with the students who just don’t seem to fit. And we get referrals regularly from various staff in the public schools, and we have great partnerships with the district career programs and are able to enroll our students.

The bottom line is, I’m passionate about helping struggling students find success–whether that’s at Crossroads School or elsewhere. That means I make referrals if we’re not the best fit, I counsel parents about how to work with their child’s school, and I invest myself in a variety of initiatives in our community to make it better for all of our students. And I can’t imagine a more rewarding career!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Longmont is a great city that still has a small-town feel. If I had a friend visiting, they would get to stay in the AirBnB that my husband and I run in one unit of the 4-plex that we own (we live in another unit, our daughter and her kids live in another, and my co-founder lives in the 4th unit). We would walk the trail along the St Vrain Creek and enjoy conversation, and check out some of the beautiful local parks–including Collyer Park, with its train-themed playground and active railroad tracks along one side, and Thompson Park, with 182 trees (74 species), many of which were planted in 1871 and hand-watered by Longmont’s founders.

We would probably visit a lot of coffee shops–I have lots of meetings in coffee shops, and love the vibe of our local hangouts: Red Frog, where my daughter is a barista; Luna Cafe, in a coverted old house; Java Stop and Ziggi’s Coffee, which are both right downtown and great places to stop while exploring the downtown shopping district.

Speaking of exploring downtown, I would take my friend to the Longmont Public Library and show them the model train display that’s been there since I was a girl, among other things. We would stop by the Used Book Emporium (can you tell I love books?!). We would wander through Bricks Local Store and hopefully catch a free concert there. And we would eat at amazing restaurants downtown: we would relax at our table on the roof at Flavor of India and at The Roost, and we would enjoy an indulgent, half-beef, half-bacon burger at Pumphouse. We would also definitely take in a play at Jester’s Dinner Theater.

We would also have to drive a little way out of town to have some adventures. First, we would go to Rocky Mountain National Park, less than an hour away, where we would drive up Old Fall River Road and down Trail Ridge Road, enjoying the amazing views and the changing trees as we went up above tree line, and we would stop to explore a glacier, no matter what time of year it was. Somewhere we would also stop for a hike, maybe to Bear Lake or Chasm Falls. Then we would stop for lunch or dinner somewhere in Estes Park, and walk along the main streets and the riverwalk and enjoy the touristy shops.

Another adventure would be to Celestial Seasonings, just down the road toward Boulder and about 20 minutes from my house. We would have lunch in their cafe and enjoy the free tour with the Mint Room and the astonishing assembly line.

Finally, my friend would have to join me at my church on Sunday for worship. The Journey is a laid-back, friendly community with a welcoming, casual worship style.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m grateful to a number of influential people in Longmont who helped Crossroads School get started. Two who have been a particular encouragement to me and have connected me with many others are Leona Stoecker, a former mayor who is also involved in a variety of initiatives in politics, community service, and more; and Rick Ebbers, the pastor of the Journey of Longmont, who is all about seeking the best for our city.

Website: https://crossroadslongmont.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrossroadsSchoolLongmontCO/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CrossroadsLongmont/videos

Image Credits
Connie Nourse, Ron Ballard