Grand opening of new East Vancouver building set for Wednesday

Leah Anaya
For Clark County Today

Two Clark County school districts did not start classes on time this year as teachers voted to strike due to failing to reach an agreement during contract negotiations. The Camas and Evergreen districts both announced delayed starts as negotiations failed, and Battle Ground barely avoided joining them (a 90 percent approval rate was needed for a strike and 78 percent of Battle Ground teachers voted to strike).

The main issues teachers have complained about are pay, class sizes, and the amount of time they have for planning. Additionally, in Camas, teachers say they want more available funding for physical education, libraries, and music programs. Evergreen teachers say they need more funding for students with special needs.

Students were supposed to start classes this week for the 2023-2024 school year, and it’s unclear at this time when the year will officially start for those districts and how the year’s in-session dates will be impacted by the strike.

Meanwhile, the Firmly Planted Homeschool Resource Center (FPHRC) is celebrating the grand opening of its new building, located at 1400 S.E. 1st St. in East Vancouver, on Wednesday (Sept. 6). FPHRC first opened its doors in 2017 and has experienced explosive growth since that time. Classes at the center are scheduled to start on time the week of Sept. 11. According to the administration, FPHRC has seen an increase in enrollment consistently over the last several years, and this year is no different.

The center offers almost 200 class options to supplement homeschool families, from core classes like math, English and science, to electives like art, dance, music, computers, and physical education. The center also has a used curriculum bookstore, occupational and speech therapy, theater productions, teen mentorship, and transcript writing and required yearly state testing. The previous facility became inadequate when over 1,500 students were enrolled, and space and parking were lacking.

The new building, which is formerly the RS Medical building, is 54,000 square feet with 250 parking spots. Classroom space will no longer be an issue, and leadership at FPHRC is encouraging the public to attend the grand opening, even if they’re not yet enrolled. 

“The public education system here in Clark County is under-serving our community and our kids,” FPHRC founder Heidi St. John told Clark County Today. “One of the biggest hurdles families face when deciding to homeschool is that they think they’re not equipped enough to do it. They’ve been made to believe they don’t have what it takes to educate their own kids. Well, I’m here to change that narrative. No one knows children better than their parents, and no one is more highly motivated to help a child succeed than his or her parents. At Firmly Planted, we give parents the tools to help them succeed in every area of family life — including school.”

St. John said she wants to assure parents that they aren’t alone in their fears, and they’re not alone in their homeschool journey. 

“When we started homeschooling our children 24 years ago, there were few resources available to us. That’s not the case now. Parents in our area have access to a huge resource center with hundreds of families who are more than happy to come alongside and be a support to them as they take the step to pull their children from the failing public schools and make the best decisions possible for their kids.”

As Clark County Today previously reported, 46,000 families have recently left the public school system for various reasons. In contrast, FPHRC has seen a huge influx of new families. “Parents are frustrated by two main things right now,” St. John said. “Catching their kids up after the COVID lockdowns and shielding their kids from the extreme leftist ideology that’s overtaken the traditional focus on reading, writing, and math.”

“A lot of families feel like homeschooling is too hard,” said Jay St. John, Heidi’s husband and the co-founder of FPHRC, “like it’s something you have to be trained to do. But the reality is, as a parent, you love and know your kid better than anyone else does, and just by putting that effort into your kids, and pouring into them, you’re helping them succeed. Studies have shown that homeschool kids do academically better than their public-school counterparts. When parents get highly involved in the education of their kids, outcomes are consistently better. This is the beauty of homeschooling.”

The building dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony next Wednesday at 6 p.m. is free to attend. Online registration for classes is currently closed, but there will be a “last chance” registration table at the ceremony. Children are welcome to attend and can participate in the many activity tables. Desserts will be available to purchase from La Uva Fortuna, and guests are asked to bring a folding chair.

“At the end of the day,” Heidi said, “the homeschool movement is two things: a ‘love your kids movement’ and a freedom movement. Turns out, when parents are free to direct the upbringing of their children and free to choose the best path for their education, kids flourish.”

For more information, go to the FPHRC website.