Cortes Island Academy
The lack of a high school on Cortes Island has been determined by the Cortes Community Economic Development Association to be one of the largest barriers to creating a resilient local economy and to keeping families on Cortes. It has also been determined by the Cortes Island Parent Advisory Committee to be one of the biggest barriers to keeping youth on the island and in the elementary school. Rural students in Canada continue to underperform their urban counterparts in every measurable outcome, including increasing dropouts. On Cortes Island leaving to seek an education cost more than a $1000 per month. Families are left to choose between leaving their home, community, and culture to seek a high school education or sending their children away to board at great personal expense and loss, or seeing their youth drop-out of school altogether.
The problem is also an opportunity. Cortes Island, the ancestral and traditional lands of the Tla’amin, Homalco, and Klahoose First Nations, is a beautiful, wild, and natural “campus”. The island boasts an amazing community that includes the Klahoose First Nation, numerous nonprofit groups, and a disproportionate number of PhDs, naturalists, educators, ecologists, artists, writers, world-class intellectuals, and local knowledge holders.
The result is the Cortes Island Academy: a truly out-of-the box high school semester offered in partnership with the Campbell River School District providing place-based, project-based, experiential, public education and earning high school credits on Cortes Island. Learn more about our 2022-2023 inaugural semester. The Cortes Island Community Foundation is honoured to have been able to support the needs of the Cortes Island community in such a tangible need and thanks to the incredible response by our community to have been able to initiate this project, provide funding to support its start-up phase, and nourish it until it becomes a sustainable organization of its own.
If you’d like to support this inititiative directly or support other educational initiatives or scholarships please visit our Donate Now page and choose Cortes Island Academy or Educational Scholarships.
Several big announcements were made and a robust list of collaborators were present on February 1st, for an update on the development of the land that is known as the ‘Village Commons’ in Mansons Landing. The meeting had about 36 attendants, including 6 people that virtually attended via zoom. The evening of presentations had a strong theme of collaboration and neighborhood togetherness.
Cora Monet introduced the night and warmly welcomed all attendees. Manda Aufochs Gillespie then spoke on behalf of the Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) by announcing that in January of 2023, the Foundation was offered to take over the stewardship of the Village Commons, from the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA). The land came with an established trail system, hydro, and the possibility of $907k worth of grants to continue into ‘Phase One’ of development. These grants came from Destination Development Fund (DDF), Rural Economic Diversification & Infrastructure Program (REDIP) and Island Costal Economic Trust (ICET).
CICF has hired architect Bruce Haden, who offered a thorough presentation on the South island scene and simple design for the Village Commons. He broke down the region into the 5 ‘L’s; The Loop, the Lake, the Lane, the Lagoon, and the Landing.
Richard Andrews has lived on Cortes for 23 years and is the general contractor for Phase One Development of the Village Commons. He also just completed the Mansons Hall deck renovations, which were funded by the Healthier Communities Grant. The development is slated to begin now until October 31st, 2024.
Phase one of the Village Commons development will include a Welcome Pole, carved by local indigenous artist, Ernie Puglas, a covered outdoor pavilion, containers for storage/commercial vending, and a shared social profit work space. The CICF is also supporting the SCCA to make the Manson's Hall parking lot more effective and functional.
Cora Moret spoke on behalf of the Southern Cortes Community Association to discuss the enhancements completed and eminently planned for the exterior of Mansons Hall. The new deck for the hall is now complete. Further fireproofing is planned and already funded for the exterior of the Hall.
Sadhu Johnston also spoke at the event to announce plans for the Cortes Housing Society (CHS) and the Fire Department. He is the Executive Director of CHS, and confirmed that the society has submitted a more robust, third application to BC Housing in hopes to fund the Rainbow Ridge project. Johnston is also the President of the Fire Department, and was enthusiastic to share plans to improve the island’s ability to fight fires and prepare for emergencies.
Several community members were acknowledged for their contributions thus far to a multifaceted journey in growing the usefulness of this downtown area. Kate Maddigan, Tammy Collingwood, Matt Cuscianna, Isabella McKnight, Andrea Fisher, and Sandra Wood were all thanked for their work on these efforts.
Project designs blur the property lines between several community owned plots, creating more flow and capacity to support popular events like the Friday Market. An extra parking near the skatepark was recently completed to help facilitate this community flow. Ideas for future phases were also discussed such as a bathhouse with showers and laundry, as well as a youth center.
Neighbours were encouraged to sign up for updates and to engage in future conversations. Please reach out to outreach@cortesfoundation.ca or manda@cortesfoundation.ca if you would like to get involved or offer insight.