EVERETT — For fifth graders at Olivia Park Elementary, located just outside south Everett, a trip to Camp Killoqua west of Smokey Point is an experience they have been looking forward to for years.
But this year’s trip was almost canceled.
Just a few weeks before students are set to leave, school staff were short on male chaperones to accompany the students. They reached out to the Everett Police Department in hopes that officers could volunteer their time to keep students’ hopes to attend the school trip alive.
Four police officers decided they were up to the task. Because they volunteered, camp was back on the agenda for Olivia Park’s fifth graders. Students leave for the three-day camp next week.
“I was really happy to find out because we’re going to camp on Monday,” 11-year-old Cecilia Stewart said on Friday.
Wade Wyrick, one of the officers who volunteered to chaperone students, attended the camp when he was young. Once he saw the trip to Camp Killoqua was at risk of being canceled, a flood of memories came back to him: swimming in a lake, climbing a rock wall, going on hikes and sleeping under the stars on a soccer field.
Wyrick jumped at the opportunity to step up as a chaperone.
“If these kids get to do a fraction of the stuff I got to do while I was there, then they’re going to have a blast,” he said. “And I’d love to be a part of that.”
Students like 11-year-old Shaker Alfaly and his twin sister, Jenna, have been looking forward to going to the camp for years. Shaker remembered as a third grader seeing the fifth graders leaving for the trip and being excited for Camp Killoqua years before he would get a chance to go. Eleven-year-old Diana Peralta said her teacher spent time convincing reluctant students to take a chance and try going to the camp.
For many students, this camp is their first opportunity to spend time away from home overnight.
“It would be really disappointing if I didn’t get to do that,” Cecilia said. “It was one of the things I was looking forward to the most.”
Ceclia is excited to see her friends at camp — namely Nina, Natalie, Peyton, Angelia, Jessica, Skyler, Addison and Jacqueline. (She asked that their names were included in the article.)
Officers volunteering saw an opportunity to put a friendly face on law enforcement.
“I think it’s important when we can work with kids in the community, especially outside of uniform,” said Stephen Ross, a sergeant with the Everett Police Department who volunteered to chaperone. “They can see we’re people too, and maybe it can reduce any barriers they have and see the police as someone that can help them and be on their side.”
The camp is funded by the state via outdoor education grants through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, school staff said. But those outdoor education grants have been almost entirely cut in the 2025-27 biennial budget as part of an effort to close a massive budget gap. Unless the school finds a funding source for next year, the fifth graders at Olivia Park Elementary hoping to attend camp may not be so lucky.
“The thought of not being able to take kids next year breaks my heart,” Peters said.
The camps, school counselor Stacy Goody said, provide unique opportunities for students who may not otherwise be able to afford summer camps. Putting children in a different environment can bring benefits to some students, she said.
“It feels like outdoor education is becoming a lost art,” Peters said. “To get out of the classroom and be able to learn different things in different ways, I think it’s an opportunity for everybody to succeed.”
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reffered to the school trip to Camp Killoqua as a summer camp.
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