White Head Elementary School
| White Head Elementary School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
278 White Head Rd , New Brunswick , Canada 44°38′11″N 66°42′39″W / 44.63647°N 66.71083°W | |
| Information | |
| School type | Elementary |
School board | Anglophone South School District |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 19 students, 2001[1] |
| Language | English |
White Head Elementary School was located on White Head Island, adjacent to Grand Manan in Charlotte County, New Brunswick and in the Anglophone South School District.[2][3]
History
An 1844 map showed the presence of a school at Gull Cove on White Head Island.[4]
The island had a dedicated school since at least 1876.[5] There was reference to the island's school sharing a hall with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.[6]
In 1882, a new school was built which was used until 1971 when the current White Head Elementary was built,[7][4] and opened in September 1972 at a ribbon-cutting with Minister of Education J. Lorne McGuigan.[8]
In the 1950s, it taught approximately fifty students.[9] Other students would take the ferry from White Head to attend Middle or High School on Grand Manan.[10] It taught Kindgarten through Grade 5, until it was reduced to Grade 4 to avoid needing to bring a new teacher for intensive French education.[11]
In 2006, it had 21 students,[12] and by 2015 it had only ten students and faced possible closure as the principal noted White Head had "no young families with little kids" that would boost future enrollment.[13]
Closure
It had a playground with picnic tables and open fields,[14] and as of 2020 the CBC noted it had four swings for only three students.[9] It climbed to four students, but in 2025 dwindled to only two students, and a Sustainability Study concluded it was no longer possible to offer equitable education at the school.[11]
References
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/micro_IA40243306_2471/mode/1up?q=%22deer+island+community+school%22
- ↑ "The Quoddy Tides". www.quoddytides.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ↑ Bus Drivers - Off to school by boat, Newspaper article in the St. Catherine's Standard Weekend Magazine, September 12, 1964, colored pages
- 1 2 "Grand Manan School District 6: White Head Collection (download)" (PDF). search.canbarchives.ca.
- ↑ s:History of Islands & Islets in the Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick/Chapter 2
- ↑ "Collection MG206 - Grand Manan School District 6 - White Head Collection". search.canbarchives.ca. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Item 1 - Interior White Head school, photo 1959 showing flag, chalk board with snowman and desks. There is a cart of books at the front of the room". search.canbarchives.ca. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Item 2 - J. Horne McGuigan (Minister of Education) cutting the ribbon to officially open the White Head School, September 5, 1972. School board chairman Gene Guptill left of Mr. McGuigan". search.canbarchives.ca. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- 1 2 "With 3 students, a New Brunswick island school faces an uncertain future". www.cbc.ca.
- ↑ "New White Head Island ferry down". www.cbc.ca. January 4, 2012.
- 1 2 "Sustainability Study: White Head Elementary" (PDF). asds.nbed.ca. October 1, 2025. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Alumni News: Winter 2006" (PDF). www.unb.ca.
- ↑ https://www.quoddytides.com/island-schools-facing-shakeup-2/
- ↑ "Playground at White Head Elementary School". swrecreationhub.ca.