Will Cortes Island become home to a new outdoor high school experience?

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - School District 72 has not yet decided, but there have been discussions about the possibility of offering outdoor high school courses on Cortes Island.

“We've been engaging in discussions with the superintendent of the Campbell River school district to explore how we might do that,” explained Sadhu Johnston.

Since the advent of COVID, the academic year has been broken up into four blocks. Johnston is proposing that some students can come to Cortes for two of those blocks for an intensive out of classroom experience. Cortes Island offers a wealth of wildlife and ecologically significant ecosystems to explore. There are also local projects they could participate in.

“We're thinking anywhere from 15 to 25 students,” he said.

Some of these may live on Cortes Island, the others would either come from Campbell River or be international students billeted on Cortes.

Johnston has a vested interest in the project: two kids, aged 11 and 14, that are nearing high school age.

“I love the idea of our whole family not having to leave the island for high school.”

A lot of Cortes families move to Campbell River for their children. Some pull their kids out of the Cortes Island school a couple of years ahead of time.

“From my perspective, it really erodes our community socially and economically to have these families leaving,” said Johnston. “Many of them leave and never come back.”

Many of the families that remain on Cortes send their kids to board in Campbell River during the week.
Johnston is also helping to organize Teen Szene, which brought him into contact with local students. 

“A lot of the teenagers like leaving because they get to broaden their general social community, which makes a ton of sense,” he said. “So I liked the idea that we could be on Cortes more and have that social community broadened.  If there were a group of 25 students, for instance, they may develop those relationships here.”

This also offers new opportunities for Cortes families:
some may keep their kids on the island for half of the year, and send them to Campbell River for the remainder.
Others might homeschool their children for the remainder of the year, or take advantage of the province’s online learning program
If the province will allow the Powell River Partners in Education program to continue accepting Cortes students, there may be a way to integrate Cortes Island programs.
 
“I don't think it's going to be the solution, the end all and be all for everybody.  That's not what it's intended to do,” explained Johnston. “It's really intended to sell the amazing offerings of Cortes,  organizations like Reel Youth who work with youth and film all over all over the country.”

Screenshot of Sadhu Johnston taken during interview