Fairhaven Girls' School threatened by economic crisis

KIRA MILLAGE - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - Fairhaven Girls' School, the only all-girl middle school in the area, opened its doors in September to a group of girls happy to be in a small, personal learning environment.

But now the future of the school, which is located across from Bellingham High School at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Ohio Street, is in limbo due to the financial crisis affecting Wall Street and the rest of the world.

As little as two weeks ago, the school's director, Amanda Werchan, had promising conversations with several local financial institutions about getting a loan to help offset the school's start-up costs and tuition for some families.

A few days later, after the school's grand opening on Sept. 27, all those conversations changed and funding was no longer an option for the private school.

"We went into the (grand) opening confident we were going to be fine," Werchan said. "We've known all along the first year was going to be a challenge. ... We just happened to pick the hardest time and we were well down the road before we knew."

Werchan and the school's board had hoped to make the school available to students unable to afford a private education. Scholarships would be available to about 30 percent of the students, with a loan starting the scholarship endowment and private donations and fundraising adding to it over the years.

Werchan expected 18 students this fall, but only 11 enrolled, partially due to the financial downturn in the U.S.

To help raise money for scholarships and school operations, Werchan and other officials:

-- Creating partnerships with other nonprofits that want to use the facility outside of school hours.

-- Offering part-time enrollment for homeschooled girls who want to supplement their week with socializing and group classes.

-- Creating the Petal Point News, a newsletter that will spotlight female entrepreneurs in Whatcom County and stories that are positive for young girls to know about.

-- Joining the Sustainable Scrips for Schools program, which helps the school raise money through coupons for local businesses.

"We need angel investors who can see the long-term benefit in supporting the development of a single-sex school in Whatcom County that has a policy of being open to a diverse financial and ethnic population," Werchan said.

But Werchan said some form of the school will remain open regardless of funding issues - it just may have major program and ideological changes.

"Fairhaven Girls' School is going to endure," Werchan said. "That spark is lit and taken on a life of its own."

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Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Fairhaven Girls' School threatened by economic crisis

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