OSO — After-school activities are among the community programs set to start at Trafton School in mid-October.
The Arlington School Board, in a cost-cutting move, closed Trafton Elementary in June 2010.
Now, a new
nonprofit organization called HighPoint is leasing the building to use for low-cost programs for children and adults.
People who live in the Trafton and Oso communities are invited to a meeting set for 7 p.m. Monday at the school, 12616 Jim Creek Road, just off Highway 530 east of Arlington.
HighPoint spokesman Gary Ray hopes people show up to offer ideas for programs they would like to see at the school.
“We see this as a YMCA-style program,” said Ray, who has run similar nonprofit community programs in California. “We have ideas, such as offering kids help with homework, crafts, sports and performing arts classes, but we would like to hear from the community.”
When HighPoint volunteers cleaned up the school building earlier this month, community members stopped by to ask about the future of historic elements of the school.
“We plan to protect all the history of the building,” Ray said. “We understand how important this building is to the community.”
HighPoint will pay the school district $400 a month to lease the building and cover its own utility use, said Arlington School District spokeswoman Andrea Conley.
“It’s a win-win situation. It’s a good way to keep the building in use,” Conley said. “And Trafton already is a bus stop, so children can be dropped off there after school.”
HighPoint is supported by Oso Community Chapel and a network of other churches, Ray said. People who take part in programs at Trafton will be asked to volunteer and help cover costs.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register, Trafton once was the oldest continually operating small public school in the state, established in 1888 when Washington was still a territory. The community rebuilt the school after a fire in 1912. The 99-year-old building retains its original architecture, including four large classrooms, a bell tower and a bronze school bell.
HighPoint is accepting donations, including musical instruments, computers, furniture in good condition for a youth center, along with books, games and family-friendly movies. Donations are tax-deductible.
For more information, contact Gary Ray at TraftonCC@gmail.com or 360-435-8027.
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