Stratford newcomers turn old school building into home

Snohomish couple relocates to adopt 'aging out' children

STRATFORD — Suzanna Danzer-Thompson is looking forward to future Christmases.

She envisions holidays around a large tree with all her foster children coming back home to visit.

By the end of the month, Danzer-Thompson and her husband of three and a half years, Mark, hope to have everything ready to make the fantasy a reality.

The couple is in the midst of renovating a former school building located in Stratford. They intend to turn it into a residence for foster and adoptive children.

"There are thousands of children in every state who need foster care," Danzer-Thompson said. "A lot of people complain about the system or we're not doing enough for these children, but they don't stand up themselves and say, 'Let me help, I'll open my home.' Sometimes it can just spiral out of control for these kids. They get bounced around, they might have to live in situations where it's not eminent danger but it's certainly not fit, because there's no place for them."

Many children age out of the system, no longer becoming eligible for foster care when they turn 18 years old.

"They have few skills, they have little self-esteem and since they haven't been adopted, they have no family," she said.

The couple hopes to care for children aged 12 to 18.

Danzer-Thompson first became involved in foster parenting through relative placement, and everything snowballed from there, due to need, she said.

"Off and on for the next 20 years, I've taken in foster kids," she said. "Mark and I, we have this passion for working with kids. When we found out how many kids were aging out, it broke our hearts. And so we thought, 'That's where the most need is.' These kids who are going nowhere and have nobody for the rest of their life, to me, that seems like a more important thing to do. That's kind of our goal, to adopt as many kids as we can."

Danzer-Thompson said she has known about the state Department of Children and Family Service's Foster Adopt program for many years, and has been a foster parent since 1981.

The program offers the possibility of becoming a foster parent while also looking for adoption placements. If the children under the Thompsons' foster care become available, they have "first dibs" to adopt them, she explained.

The Thompsons will be licensed to foster six children by the end of the month, the state maximum for a couple with the amount of space the Thompsons have, and two overflow spaces for emergencies, for a total of eight children.

"If we want to continue to adopt, as long we have space and the state says you're good parents and everything, we could have 20 kids," she explained. "We would no longer be foster parents then. Once you exceed that six of your own children in the home [are adopted], they won't let you do that [foster]."

The Thompsons moved to Stratford from Snohomish about four months ago.

"The reason we came here was specifically so we could find a really big house for less money than it was going to cost on the West Side, and be able to offer this home to children for foster care and adoption," she said.

About a year ago, Danzer-Thompson was surfing the Internet and found the Stratford building. It is over 6,000 square feet with three levels. The lower floor was once the boys and girls separate exercise rooms and bathrooms. The main floor, once classrooms, is now the living room, dining room and kitchen area. One classroom has been maintained and will be used for a home office. The top floor, formerly the auditorium, is the dormitory with both bedroom and entertainment spaces.

"I printed out the picture, I wrote across the front, 'I'm moving here, who wants to come with me?'" she said.

The Thompsons had no foster children at the time. One of the reasons to make the move was because their Snohomish home was too small.

"Actually walking into this place for the first time, we were in awe," she said. "The hugeness of the space, the charm and the character, the history. It's a four-hour ride back to Snohomish; we didn't stop talking the entire time, both of us. We were all excited about the possibilities and that our dream we felt was finally going to come true if we could put a deal together on this place."

The building was built in 1912 and was originally a school, until the 1940s. The architect studied in Europe to begin building in the style of architecture in the United States It sat vacant for many years until a couple purchased it in the mid-1970s and turned it into a residence, where they lived until the Thompsons purchased it.

The couple is remodeling to meet safety requirements and took a number of tests and background checks. Danzer-Thompson hopes to have everything ready by the end of May.

"There's usually such a need, by the time they license you, they've already got placements considered for you," she said.

The move seems like it was meant to be, from schools for the couple's teenage daughter to Mark's ability to transfer to the Moses Lake Genie Industries facility from his position with the company in Redmond.

"Everything fell into place for us," Danzer-Thompson said.

The couple is preparing for the influx of children, building eight beds.

"We feel we're really giving something to the community, and we're hoping maybe the community would give back and help us a little bit," she said.

The Thompsons are looking for donations of clean and gently used mattresses in twin and full sizes, bookcases, dressers, bedside tables, lamps and dining chairs. For more information, call the Thompsons at 509-345-0440.

They are also looking for donations to help purchase a 12-passenger van at Barry Chevrolet, with a bank account set up at U.S. Bank. Interested people can make a donation in the name of Mark and Suzanna Thompson at any branch.

"You see kids who come in angry, withdrawn, low self-esteem, and you watch them grow, blossom and kind of come out of their shell and begin to believe they're worthwhile, no matter how many people have told them they're not," Danzer-Thompson said. "There's such a joy to see that, and know you've had a part in it."