Crawford Bay is a small and remote community on the east shore of Kootenay Lake in the southern interior of British Columbia. A community of about 500 people, it is one of several such communities collectively known as the East Shore communities.

Historically, the area has relied heavily on logging for employment but, since the 1960s at least, has also been home to grassroots environmentalists and, more recently, to highly educated exurbanites who form part of a ‘back to the land’ movement. There is also a strong artisan community with a broad range of skills in carving, weaving, ironwork and other arts.

The village of Crawford Bay has been home to a one-room school house since 1946, and the need to replace this aging facility provided the impetus for this project. A feasibility study quickly determined that rehabilitation and expansion of the existing building was not cost effective, nor could the existing site readily accommodate a new structure and the required ancillary facilities such as playing fields and parking lots. Accordingly, a new site was selected and design of the new school commenced in 2004.