A tiny island community raises $1 million to build teacher housing, offering a lifeline to the oldest continuously operating school in Washington state.
SHAW ISLAND, Wash. — It sounds like a teacher’s dream job: small classes, involved parents and an idyllic setting. But there is one problem — there is nowhere to live.
That’s the situation in the San Juan Islands, where a housing crunch is creating a teacher shortage at one of the state’s most historic schools.
The bell rings by hand at Shaw Island School. The two room, barn red building is 136 years old, and the longest continuously operating schoolhouse in Washington. But with that distinction comes its own set of challenges. The biggest issue isn’t crumbling classrooms for kids: it’s the lack of bedrooms for teachers.
“It’s very crucial because that’s our main obstacle in getting a teacher, finding a place to live that is permanent,” said Diane Clifton, who has taught at the two-room schoolhouse for 17 years. During that time, she has had to move four times to various rental properties. “It’s really hard to keep uprooting and having to move and struggling to find a place.”
On this island of about 150 people, the median price for a home is $1 million and rentals are essentially nonexistent. Commuting from the mainland or another island means a minimum 14-hour day.
Rebecca Hogue graduated from Shaw Island School, and her daughter Isla is now a kindergartener there. “It’s a really magical place and I can’t think of a better childhood for my kids,” she said. But Hogue worries about the future of education on the island. The school needs to hire another teacher but has struggled to recruit one because of the lack of housing. “I think it’s always been an issue. It’s always been in the back of everyone’s minds to provide our teachers with a stable place to be.”
The community has been talking about building teacher housing for 30 years. Now, they’re finally making it happen, raising $1 million to build a house steps from the schoolhouse door.
For that price on this island, you get a 1,300-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-story home — just about walking distance to work. But to the people of Shaw Island, it’s a castle. The home is expected to be completed this winter, and Clifton hopes to move in when it’s done.
“It would be lovely to have a place, a really great feeling to have a place where you know you can rest your head every night,” she said.
Whoever moves in will pay rent and could soon have a neighbor. The plan is to build a second house on the same district-owned property for another teacher.
“We won’t have to worry about where teachers are going to live ever again,” said Dr. Becky Bell, Shaw Island School superintendent.
For Hogue, the project is proof of what a small community can accomplish. “I think it’s really incredible what a community can do when they come together to solve an issue like this.”
From school bell to doorbell, the little red schoolhouse now has a heart and soon, a home.
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