Crossnore Communities for Children has raised $35 million for major renovations and an expansion of services to all of its campuses. The money will also bring a new charter school to the Piedmont.
The statewide foster care organization serves Winston-Salem, Avery County, and Hendersonville, with planned services for the greater Charlotte region. Crossnore’s capital campaign aims to bring in an additional $6 million in public donations for planned building projects, bolstering existing programs, and investments in technology, scholarships, and diversity. The funds will also be used to support the construction of a new kindergarten through 4th-grade charter school on the Winston-Salem campus.
Chief Executive Officer Brett Loftis says the focus there will be on what he calls high intensive support through very small class sizes with 10 to 1 student-teacher ratios.
"So, when we talk about really giving every child what they need, it’s not just giving one thing and hoping that it sticks, it’s really differentiating the instruction for every kid’s individual need, which you can do when you have a class of 10 or twelve but it’s impossible to do when you have a class of 28 or 30," says Loftis.
He adds there will be an additional emphasis on supportive services such as access to trauma-trained therapists on campus, nursing support, and access to medical care. Crossnore’s charter school application was approved in October with plans to be fully operational in August 2025.