Spirit Mountain Community Fund (SMCF) grants make it possible to expand valuable opportunities to all students in all Beaverton’s schools. Thanks to their support, Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) has been able to take promising new ideas that serve a single school or classroom and bring them to scale as successful BEF cornerstone programs that reach thousands of students throughout the Beaverton School District.
“We are thankful for our incredible partnership with Spirit Mountain Community Fund,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. “From STEAM and trades-focused initiatives to extended day and summer programs, SMCF’s commitment to our schools is pivotal in ensuring equitable, high-quality solutions to all students throughout the District.”
SMCF’s generosity makes an impact:
- An early grant from SMCF was the catalyst for Camp Achieve’s unparalleled growth. BEF’s enrichment program for elementary school students focuses on improving reading and math skills over summer break. The program began as a pilot at one school and last year, Camp Achieve was offered at all 34 Beaverton elementary schools, serving nearly 2,300 students.
- Similarly, SMCF’s support for BEF’s Safe and Sound 4 School Success (S4) after school academics and athletics program helped it grow from an informal program at four middle school into a scalable program delivering improved student attendance and classroom performance to participants at 10 District middle schools. S4 even operated, though scaled back, during distance and hybrid learning, continuing to offer opportunities for students to connect with teachers and peers around common interests.
- Since its launch in 2008, Building STEAM 4 All has provided support and focus on the integration of science, technology, engineering, arts and math into Beaverton schools. Thanks to key SMCF funding, the initiative has brought STEAM opportunities to thousands of students each year.
- In the last two years, support from SMCF helped catapult BEF’s Middle School Trades Exploration pilot program into a tremendous success — engaging 140 students from middle schools throughout the District with construction industry-specific occupational skills training throughout the academic year. Initially a summer offering, the program originally served 30 students from three middle schools.
Spirit Mountain Community Fund leadership says now is a critical time to continue to work together to support our most vulnerable communities. “We are thankful and grateful to our nonprofit partners, like Beaverton Education Foundation, who work tirelessly to provide pivotal services for children and families during this very challenging time,” they say.
“Funders like Spirit Mountain Community Fund give BEF the power to grow innovative projects and pilot programs into sustainable initiatives that truly soar,” says Baggett. “It is thanks to their support that we can prepare our students, and the entire Beaverton community, for the brightest future possible.”