Parents and district devise survey

Point Roberts primary school parents were overflowing with advice for the Blaine school district in deciphering the apparent unpopularity of the school. They were equally zealous in demanding the district devote the time and resources to reconnect the school with the community.

“When we get all this data, what are we going to do with it?” asked Elaine Komusi, mother of a first-grader at the local primary school, at an October 19 community meeting regarding a proposed survey to determine community views and expectations for the school. “We’re going to do whatever we can to improve things,” answered Blaine school board member Red Goodwin.

Goodwin said a carefully developed survey would help the district get a firm number of school-aged children on the Point and why families feel the need to choose other educational options. “You want to really drill down and find out where those kids go and why,” Goodwin said. “Where are they now, why are they there and how do we change the pattern?” The student population at the local primary school has dropped to 10 students this year, which some estimates have put at less than a third of the primary-age students on the Point.

Ten parents attended the meeting and they all agreed the school had image problems they needed to identify and confront. “We need to attack the whole trust issue,” said Komusi. On one hand some parents of kids attending Blaine schools worry primary school supporters are trying to undermine the larger school district. “What we really want to do is bring all the five campuses together as one family,” Komusi said. On the other hand some parents are worried that the shrinking budget and student population is destined to spell the closure of the local school. “I’m on the board and I’ve never heard of closing it,” Goodwin said. “Let’s move forward knowing this school is here and we want this school open. It’s necessary.”

Blaine school district superintendent Dr. Mary Lynne Derrington said the proposed survey would be a tool to find out what kinds of services mattered to parents. “Are there other kinds of things we could look at as educational offerings on this campus,” she asked. “What can we do to keep this a happy, vigorous school?” One mother suggested she would like to see a bullying prevention program.

Parents said they would email Goodwin with what they thought were the five most important questions to ask on the survey, and he would then work with a smaller committee to develop the final survey and its distribution list.

The school district typically holds five meetings every school year in Point Roberts. The next meeting will take place before the holidays; the topic will be technology.

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