Original Research by School Decision on Griffin Bay School Open Doors
Griffin Bay School Open Doors is a very small alternative school within the San Juan Island School District, serving grades ten through twelve in Friday Harbor. It is a public school, but it is classified as an alternative school, which typically means it serves students who need a non-traditional setting to complete high school. The school's enrollment is extremely small, with only a handful of students, all of whom are in twelfth grade. The student body is evenly split between white and Hispanic students. Because of its size and alternative designation, many of the standard accountability measures that parents might look for are simply not applicable or not available. There are no state assessment results to report, no graduation rate, and no chronic absenteeism data. This is not a sign of any particular problem; it reflects the fact that the school is so small and specialized that these metrics are not calculated or published for it. A parent considering this school should be aware that it operates at a scale and with a mission that puts it outside the typical reporting frameworks.
Friday Harbor itself is the only incorporated town in San Juan County and the commercial heart of the San Juan Islands. It is a small, compact community with a tourism-driven economy, a prominent ferry terminal, and a mix of civic and educational institutions. The San Juan Island School District, which runs the three public schools in town as well as Griffin Bay, has not had any major publicly reported changes like new levies or bond measures in recent years, though the data on district changes was limited. Housing in the area is expensive; the typical home value in the Friday Harbor zip code is well above the state and national averages, and buying a home there requires a substantial income. The cost of entry for a family is high.
For a family or a student, Griffin Bay School Open Doors is clearly a niche option. It is not a comprehensive high school like Friday Harbor High School, which is the district's main high school. It exists to serve a small group of students who are working toward a diploma in a setting that is likely more flexible and individualized than a traditional school can offer. The complete absence of test scores and a graduation rate means that a parent cannot evaluate this school on the usual metrics. The decision to enroll would depend entirely on a conversation with the school and the district about who the program is designed for, what the expectations are, and what the pathway to graduation looks like. The school's environment and the community context suggest a student would be in a very small, tightly supervised program, not a typical high school experience. The surrounding community is affluent, remote, and oriented toward tourism and services, which shapes the opportunities and challenges families face. A parent or student considering this school should seek direct, specific information from the school about its program, its completion rates, and what post-graduation options it supports, because the public data does not answer those questions.
See more original research from School Decision →