The Blaine School District is providing more support for Point Roberts students, offering an after-school activity bus and two new programs: Transition to Kindergarten and healthy snacks.
The school board met Sept. 28 at Point Roberts Primary School for its regular board meeting.
Point Roberts
For Point Roberts students attending school in Blaine, joining an after-school activity brings an additional challenge: figuring out a ride home.
This may become less of a barrier this school year. The district now offers an activity bus for students in third through 12th grade that will drop them off at home in Point Roberts after extracurricular activities in Blaine.
The program is intended to give Point Roberts students greater access to after-school activities, such as sports, in Blaine without causing families the extra hassle of coordinating transportation across the border.
The bus departs from the Boys and Girls Club at 6 p.m. and from the high school gym at 6:05 p.m. to bring kids back up north, dropping them off at their homes. Because some after school programs don’t finish until later in the evening, departure times could change in the future.
In the past, transportation has been a barrier for Point Roberts students participating in extracurricular activities, and the hope is that this program would encourage more families to opt for choices in Blaine rather than seeking alternatives in Canada.
The board planned to further review extracurricular activity schedules and Superintendent Dan Chaplik said he will have a survey put together to distribute to families to determine transportation needs.
Point Roberts Primary School welcomed 16 students this year, offering Transition to Kindergarten for the first time. With the addition of the program, the district brought David Moreno on to the teaching staff.
Moreno will teach first and second grade, joining Tracy Kelly, teaching TK and kindergarten.
Another new program for students living in Point Roberts is also on its way in the next few weeks: healthy snacks for students that ride the bus. Snack options could include fresh fruits and vegetables, string cheese or milk. Because the food will cross the border, specific details are still being determined based on food and packaging regulations.
School Resource Officer Advisory Committee
The board also voted unanimously to pass a motion to create an advisory committee to help guide the potential return of a school resource officer to the district.
The district has had an SRO in the past, and had an agreement with the City of Blaine that the district would cover 75% of expenses with the city covering the remaining 25%.
Chaplik said he had met with the city a few times to discuss some of the logistics of reinstating the SRO program, but acknowledged that community opinions about the program vary.
Board members discussed the importance of involving parents, staff and other community members in the process, as well as looking at SRO programs in other districts to help determine the approach that would work best for Blaine.
“One other benefit to having the group to discuss it, is not only is it a good opportunity for parents and community members and staff to talk about it, but just to manage expectations, rather than hiring somebody and no one really knows what they do or what their role is,” board member Erika Creydt said.
The board will further discuss details for the advisory committee in future meetings.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here