Point Roberts community rallies to support local school

Community members packed the Point Roberts Community Center on January 10 to discuss the future of Point Roberts Primary School, expressing concerns about declining enrollment and calling for renewed engagement between the school district and local families.

“The district has had no discussions about closing Point Roberts Primary School,” Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger assured attendees. “I think the building is very important to this community. The community is very important to the school district.”

Former school employee Deb Wilkowski said she’s seen the difference over the years.

“When I started working there in 2008, we had eight students. When I left in 2015, we had 19,” Wilkowski said. “When we moved here, there were three buses going to Blaine.”

The school currently serves just five students, while one parent estimated there were 30 to 40 students being homeschooled.

“I don’t speak for all of the homeschooling parents, but for some of them, the reason we don’t put our kids into the public school system is that, from our perspective, we have seen a turning away from what we see as traditional values, morals and common-sense values that we think are time-tested,” explained one man, a father of six children. “And because we feel that there is an ideological push onto the children, we’ve retracted from that.”

Granger pointed out that the school district had a program called HomeConnection that was a blend of home schooling and school instruction, and asked if parents of homeschooled children would consider it as an option. In addition, he said the district offered an alternative online learning model for high school students.

Several parents described how the school was previously a vibrant community hub.

“We had our Christmas shows and our silent auctions. The school was involved in the community,” one long-time parent said. “Professional artists and musicians from the community would come teach the children. It was legendary.”

Granger acknowledged the funding challenges facing the district but expressed openness to community solutions.

“We’re working with our team to see if there’s any of those things we could address in the future as we prepare for next school year,” he said.

Point Roberts residents proposed better integration with homeschooled families, increased volunteer opportunities, and improved communication about programs and policies.

“We need leadership from the top to understand the vision for this unique community,” said one resident, highlighting Point Roberts’ distinctive needs as an exclave community. “We are a unique community in a unique situation where we’re off the mainland. We need a unique solution.”

The two-and-a-half-hour meeting concluded with plans to organize an open house and explore ways to increase community involvement in Point Roberts Primary School.