Spokane Valley High School: After a return to school, Papillion Fritz finds her footing and a future

Papillon Fritz dropped out of school years ago, the same as her older brother and mother before her. But after a push from a family member to re-enroll in school, Fritz is now set to graduate from Spokane Valley High School.

Fritz was born in Arizona but spent little time there before moving to Spokane Valley. She attended kindergarten at Trent Elementary, then moved with her family to Tacoma, where she stayed until returning to Spokane Valley two years ago.

“We moved away from my mom, because she wasn’t in a good place,” Fritz said.

Her mother has battled drug addiction and abusive relationships, Fritz said. The family was evicted and Fritz’s mother is still homeless. While Fritz speaks with her mother about once a month, she doesn’t see her father, who hasn’t been involved with the family for nearly a decade, Fritz said.

When Fritz and her two brothers – one older and one younger – arrived in town, they lived with an aunt. Fritz got a part-time job, just as she had in Tacoma. She hadn’t thought about school for years. “I just didn’t have the energy or the time,” she said. “I’ve been working since I was 14.”

Her aunt told her she needed to either get a full-time job or go back to school. Fritz chose school and her aunt suggested Spokane Valley High School, an alternative school focused on helping students make up missing credits.

At first, Fritz was hesitant, but she kept going to classes. “I wasn’t really sure,” she said. “I like it now that I’ve been there two years. I love my teachers.”

Fritz enrolled in a program that allows her to do most of her work online, coming to school and meeting with teachers only twice a week. It gives her the flexibility she needs to work.

After she went back to school, Fritz and her brothers got an apartment together. Her older brother works and she’s been working full-time for the past year. The two pool their money to pay rent and the bills while Fritz, who is about to turn 19, takes on a maternal role for her younger brother, who recently turned 17.

“I do all the grocery shopping,” she said. “I take my little brother to school. He was in wrestling for a while and I was at every match.”

Fritz’s hard work both at home and at school has not gone unnoticed. Teacher Sarah Magney said she’s impressed by all that Fritz has accomplished.

“She came to us two and a half years ago with only three high school credits, but she wanted to re-enroll in school and earn her high school diploma,” Magney said. “Since then, she has worked incredibly hard to be an honor roll student and earn all her credits.”

In addition to earning her high school diploma, Fritz wants to be the first in her family to go on to college. She plans to get a two-year transfer degree at Spokane Community College, then earn a bachelor’s degree in social work. “I think it’s crazy, but it will be worth it,” she said.

Fritz said she picked social work because when she was young, her mother worked for a nonprofit organization that helped families in need. She would often visit her mother’s work. “It just really made me want to do social work,” she said.

Fritz said she also wants to help children like her and her brothers. Social service agencies never did anything to help them, she said. “They had gotten involved, but they never did an investigation,” she said. “I would want to get involved to get justice for kids that need it.”