Physical activity, including PE classes in school, is critical to a healthy lifestyle and a well-rounded education. When kids play, they learn not only coordination and balance, but also teamwork and interpersonal skills — a special mix that leads to academic success and healthy habits that last a lifetime.
Our students need to recover from so many sedentary months during the pandemic, yet many Beaverton schools lack the exercise equipment needed to get all kids up and moving during PE, recess and after school activities.
Beaverton Education Foundation’s new PE + Play Impact Fund is a multifaceted approach to getting our students back on track with exercise and healthy habits. BEF will provide PE equipment to all Beaverton schools so students will have access to the tools they need to meet their physical learning goals. A phased approach kicks off this spring by targeting 7,600 students at 17 elementary and middle schools; additional schools, including high schools, will be served in the coming months.
BEF is working closely with the District’s PE Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) to identify and fill gaps in funding and equipment. The TOSAs described how PE class sizes are larger than before the pandemic and how that makes equipment scarce. COVID concerns make it harder to share supplies among students. PE teachers also see how 15 months of distance and hybrid learning left students far less active than normal, with a negative impact on their mental health and physical fitness.
“BEF is in a unique position to help Beaverton students, especially low-income students, rebound from some of the negative effects of the pandemic,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. “There’s a real need in our schools, and we can make our teachers’ and students’ lives easier and healthier, now and into the future.”
The first effort this spring — to secure new PE equipment for Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering (BASE) — began earlier this month and will be funded by BEF and community donations through a Beaverton’s Choice campaign. BASE administrators say that basic items such as soft toss footballs, badminton nets, frisbees, goals and soccer balls will go a long way to create the foundation for collaborative team building activities that are necessary to facilitate large PE classes with more than 40 students.
The next phase, the PE + Play Impact Fund, launches today to support PE needs at 14 elementary schools and three middle schools that serve large populations of low-income students. Your support is needed so students can be even more physically active this spring.
Additional programs will be announced in the coming months to reach more students across Beaverton schools.