Salmonberry School Opens Tenth Year!

I can’t really believe we are approaching the close of our first decade providing a holistic educational alternative for children on Orcas Island.  What a wonderful and wonder-filled ride it has been so far.  This year we will be celebrating this symbolic milestone in many ways.  I wanted to begin by sharing with you all a brief history of Salmonberry School.  In coming weeks I hope to fill these web pages with photos and stories of the usual events and day-to-day goings on at school.  Also keep an eye out for a series of articles I’ll be posting this fall on education and creativity.  A bit later this year I want to highlight education for engagement and I am very excited to share through a few personal narratives some success stories and testimonials from Salmonberry alumni.

I am sincerely looking forward to Salmonberry’s tenth year being the best yet.  Keep checking this blog frequently for updates.

Now, a little history lesson from Andria and the Salmonberry Board:

This year, 2010-2011, marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of Salmonberry School.  We, the Salmonberry Board, would like to take this opportunity to rejoice and express our gratitude to all the individuals who have contributed to this unique community over the years; to all the children (at least 300 by some estimates) who have passed through our doors and shared their unfolding with us, to all the parents who have supported their children, fundraised and contributed untold hours to our grounds, to our staff (our many teachers, assistants, specialist instructors and administrators) who have enriched the lives of our children, and to our founding board – Moana Kutsche, Lydia Miller, Lynne Howe, Suzanne McFarland, Barbara Hagen – and subsequent board members serving out terms–Tammy Pollard, Lynn White, Laurie Junkins and Heidi Dudley – who have held the vision for Salmonberry and worked tirelessly to see it become a reality.  We are also indebted to the numerous other individuals who served partial terms on the board and made unique contributions to the school and its governance.

On this anniversary, we would also like to take a moment to reflect and remember the path that led us to this, our 10^th year.  It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when Salmonberry was founded, the exact moment when it took shape.  At its roots, it can be traced back to a Children’s House playgroup in the late 1990’s.  A group of new mothers met, became friends and found they and their children shared an affinity with one another.  Their camaraderie led to another playgroup, this time of their own creation and the spark for Salmonberry was ignited.  In 2001, as their children reached preschool age, these families decided to found a school.  In June of 2001, they hired Paul as their preschool teacher.  Within months a board had been formed, our current early childhood building was undergoing renovations and the name Salmonberry was chosen.  A school had been born.

Salmonberry didn’t remain exclusively a preschool for long.  Salmonberry children continued to grow, as children do, and it wasn’t long before the founders set their sights on expansion.  Little more than a year after the original founding, Salmonberry elementary school came into being. In the summer of 2002, we were fortunate enough to acquire what is now our elementary school building.  The structure was quickly transformed from a dingy storefront with a parking lot in the rear, new staff was hired, enrollment expanded and Salmonberry officially became an approved private school.  Paul took the helm as lead elementary teacher as well as Head of School and has never looked back.

Over the last ten years, the school’s philosophy has been honed and it’s mission statement revised but many of the principles fundamental to the school’s founding remain the same. Philosophically, educating the “whole” child through a program rich in creative arts was important to our early families, as was the idea of supporting children in the “pursuit of their passions”.   The founders articulated Salmonberry’s mission as follows:

We, the Salmonberry School community, have come together for the purpose of educating our children.  The school offers a safe, secure and nurturing environment.  We provide dynamic experiences for children and encourage them to pursue their passions.  Our goal is to foster students’ independence, creativity, curiosity, self-esteem and a love for learning.

Pedagogy was, however, only one motivator in the founding of the school. Perhaps above all else, the original families wanted to be active and integral partners in the education of their children; they wanted to be involved.  For them, this meant not only supporting their child’s school and teachers but feeling connected to the classroom and the daily experiences of their children.  This spirit of connection has been a critical principle guiding Salmonberry since the school’s inception.

Salmonberry’s evolution continues to this day.  It is a work in progress.  In the early days we used to say that being at the helm of Salmonberry was like building an airplane in flight.  Hopefully, we have moved beyond that stage but there is always more to learn – new programming to try, governance to hone, quality staff to hire, enrollment to build and fundraising to perfect.  This ongoing evolution of our community is a dynamic and collaborative process in which you, the school’s parents, play a vital role.  In the spirit in which Salmonberry was founded, we would like to invite you in – to our classrooms, to our board meetings, on to our board.  We encourage you to take part in Salmonberry’s ongoing evolution.  We invite you and your children to dive in and become co-creators of this amazing institution.