Author: BEF Author

Thanks to our generous donors, Beaverton Education Foundation has awarded $47,236, funding 31 classroom projects, for the 2021-22 academic year.

Help Hiteon Hawks Soar With “Good Fit” Books

Hiteon Elementary School
Students Served: 310
Recipient: Sivhong Hanson
Amount Awarded: $1,500

Funding provided by the Anne Kelly Ofstun Tubby Fund

Thanks to funds raised through Beaverton’s Choice, young learners at Hiteon Elementary will be able to increase their reading skills and stamina with “good fit” books that are representative of our diverse community and captivate students’ attention.

PADRES UNIDOS

Westview High School
Students Served: 350
Recipient: Michelle Silva
Amount Awarded: $2,000

Westview Unido is changing the ongoing statistic of LatinX students’ lack of engagement in the school system by providing informational nights on: academic procedures, how to read transcripts, college preparedness, advanced course registration and more. Thanks to funds raised through Beaverton’s Choice, the group will be able to provide more engaging opportunities to grow the Unido family and build their community through events where families can meet each other and converse with the school’s administrative team.

Kindy Owls are Hootin’ for Recess

Vose Elementary School
Students Served: 19
Recipient: Ariel Willey
Amount Awarded: $500

Kindergarteners at Vose Elementary School are getting active and giving their brains a break thanks to Beaverton’s Choice funds for interesting, outdoor play options that can be easily enjoyed, rain or shine.

Barnes Bops for BrainPOP

Barnes Elementary School
Students Served: 70
Recipient: Tammie Catherall
Amount Awarded: $690

Funding provided through the BEF Building STEAM 4 ALL program

Funds raised through Beaverton’s Choice gave Barnes Elementary School students access to digital content through BrainPOP – engaging students and supporting teachers with learning games, custom and playful assessments, lesson plans, and beyond. Content is available in English and Spanish, further supporting ELLs and Spanish speakers by engaging and challenging students with tiered lessons to build reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Learning through Art

Beaver Acres Elementary School
Students Served: 22
Recipient: Amy Molony
Award: $372

Kindergarteners at Beaver Acres Elementary School are expanding their love of learning and building their self-awareness thanks to funds from Beaverton’s Choice. Using painting as a medium for inquiry and purposeful play students can create aesthetically pleasing works and experiences that convey ideas, express emotion and use their senses all while exploring color, processes and outcomes. and. Painting also helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Building Our Leveled Libraries

William Walker Elementary School
Students Served: 500
Recipient: Rosanne Freer
Award: $2,640

Funding provided through the Anne Kelly Ofstun Tubby and Mike Osborne Memorial Award Endowment Funds

William Walker Elementary students have expanded access to curated library bins thanks to Beaverton’s Choice funds. The bins provide eager and enthusiastic learners a wide selection of perfectly tailored, reading level-specific books and will help improve reading levels that were impacted during online learning.

Ping Pong Please!

Meadow Park Middle School
Students Served: 600
Recipient: Jennifer Hoffman
Award: $500

Students at Meadow Park Middle School received an opportunity to learn a fun, new skill – ping pong! Thanks to Beaverton’s Choice funding, Meadow Park is able to add a new unit to their PE lessons. Students are having fun, learning new skills and enjoying a safe opportunity to socialize every day during PE.

Building STEAM skills… literally!

Kinnaman Elementary School
Students Served: 500
Recipient: Michael Reed
Award: $965

Funding provided through Intel & the BEF Building STEAM 4 ALL program

Every student at Kinnaman Elementary is gaining valuable experience planning, building, revising, innovating and collaborating thanks to funds raised to purchase low-tech building blocks. Hands-on tools like these Keva Planks are now a part of STEAM specials curriculum and teach high-tech skills to even the youngest learners.

Aloha High School Gallery Lighting

Aloha High School
Students Served: 1000+
Recipient: Stephen Loudon
Award: $1,000

Funding provided Aloha High School Booster Club

Artwork from more than 2,000 Aloha High School visual art students annually will be properly lit in H Hall to be enjoyed by the entire Aloha High School community of students, staff and visitors thanks to funds raised for upgraded gallery lighting. New lighting will help students with: peer critiques, produce higher quality artwork and learn how to appropriately install and light artwork.

Thanks to your generous contributions, the dollars raised are enabling enrichment programs in Beaverton schools that otherwise would not be possible. For current programs, and to begin your application, please visit Beaverton’s Choice, Beaverton Education Foundation’s online resource that brings community and classrooms together.

When Kobe started at Highland Park Middle School, his grades and attendance were not great. But, that quickly changed after he joined Safe and Sound 4 Student Success (S4), an after school program that combines academic support, peer-to-peer relationship building, soccer and other enrichment activities to help students thrive in school and beyond. 

While Kobe was only at Highland Park for two years before his family moved, he kept in touch with his S4 advisor and school psychologist, Kelly Smith. She helped him navigate paperwork at his new school and invited him back to Highland Park to help with S4 activities.

Last spring Kobe contacted Smith again with a special request: would she attend his high school graduation? He was so proud to walk in the ceremony, and he attributed his success to the support he got in the S4 program. He wanted to share the accomplishment with her, and it turned into a day neither will forget. 

BEF Lays the Groundwork for a Lasting Program

BEF first started funding middle school after school academics in 2004, and it’s awarded more than $1 million since then to support students experiencing barriers to school success. The S4 program brings together academic and social supports with an outlet for physical activity that eases the transition so middle schoolers can become successful high school students. 

The students develop leadership skills they wouldn’t get otherwise at school, and build meaningful relationships with their peers and teachers. They not only get academic support, but are also held accountable for their academics — without academic participation and success, they can’t play on the soccer teams they love so much. These multicultural groups share a pride in representing their schools in soccer tournaments, and this inspires their hard work. 

BEF was instrumental in launching the S4 program at a few initial sites in 2013 and has since provided funding to expand it to middle schools across the Beaverton School District, added consistent academic expectations, and implemented a robust evaluation process.

The results are tangible. Data on attendance, grades and behavior confirms that S4 sets students on a path to success, like it did for Kobe. S4 students attend more school, earn better grades, and have fewer disciplinary incidents when compared to peers who did not take part in the program.

“With its focus on demographic groups where academic achievement has historically lagged, we know S4 is one of the reasons our District has seen improvements in the number of 9th grade students on track to graduate,” says Ken Struckmeier, the District’s executive administrator for middle schools. 

As a result, the District recently committed to expanding the program, providing at least $150,000 this year, which complements BEF’s $30,000 award. 

S4 is available at all District middle schools, but it isn’t a one-school-fits all solution, says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. Each school’s version of S4 is built and executed by local staff, students and volunteers but relies on the core S4 model.

“S4 is a great example of how BEF incubates an idea and amplifies staff and student voices, finding viable solutions that are then easily implemented by the District,” Baggett says. 

“The District’s deeper support for S4 is proof that our approach to educational transformation works,” she adds. “We’re proud that this BEF program has demonstrated how it’s an important tool for students to gain academic tools, confidence and leadership skills. We’re thrilled the District is expanding its role and that S4 will leave a lasting imprint on even more students.” 

You can support BEF’s Cornerstone Programs like S4 and ensure every Beaverton student is inspired and prepared for their brightest future by becoming a monthly donor today.

Betty Flad is one of Beaverton Education Foundation’s most stalwart and beloved volunteers and donors, we even started her hashtag #BettyFladIsRad. She worked for 37 years in the Beaverton School District as a teacher, principal, and district administrator. Since she first connected with BEF more than 20 years ago, she’s served on our Board of Directors, chaired our Kids Count and small grants committees, and volunteered at nearly every phone-a-thon since her first in 1999. We asked Betty why BEF is important to her and our entire Beaverton community.

What inspires you to donate your resources and time to BEF?

I have long believed that our future is totally dependent on our children. Education has made all the difference in my life. I was the only person in my family to ever go to college, and it’s given me opportunities that I might not otherwise have had. So whatever I can do personally or collectively to support educational endeavors and provide opportunities for children to learn and grow, I do.

When I lost my son back in 2000, every donation we received we gave to BEF. We started a middle school homework support and soccer after school program, which has since grown into Safe and Sound 4 School (S4). When I was a District administrator, middle school staff members told me it’s actually one of the very best things that ever happened to their schools.  

What are your favorite memories as a BEF volunteer?

I’ve been known to be pretty competitive in the annual fundraising phone-a-thons. Every year I’ve participated, I’d get paired with a team of high school kids, and our group would raise the most money for BEF. It was motivating for all of us, and I love giving back. 

Why do you support BEF in addition to individual schools? 

BEF’s impact is so much broader than just one school, it reaches all 40,000 Beaverton students with hands-on programs that hone in on exactly what our students need. BEF identifies these solutions with the help of the educators who work with the students day in and day out. 

As a former BSD educator and administrator, I really appreciate how BEF’s awards bring an element of excitement, motivation and intrigue to the classrooms and the schools as a whole. And as a donor, I appreciate BEF’s matching opportunities so I can double my personal donations. 

How is Beaverton stronger because of BEF? 

BEF helps level the playing field for all Beaverton schools, which is something I really support. The strength of the District depends on the strength of every school, and not every school’s PTO can raise a lot of money to fill in the gaps in District funding. BEF does a great job connecting people — parents, school communities, educators, board members, and other funders — to provide resources to be used to help students and teachers across all the schools.

When Carmen started second grade, she was struggling to keep up with her class and couldn’t find any books she enjoyed. Her love for reading seemed just out of reach. But thanks to donors like you, she excitedly began asking her teacher, “Can you help me find the next book in my series?”

What brought on such a dramatic shift? Carmen joined Terra Linda Elementary School’s Tiger Reading Club after school, where she spent a few months practicing reading strategies and getting small-group instruction. Beaverton Education Foundation’s support helped the program expand its reach. As a result, Tiger Reading Club students made incredible gains in their reading, especially compared to their non-participating peers. 

Each year, thanks to our generous donors, BEF is able to help Carmen and tens of thousands of students like her across Beaverton’s public schools achieve their brightest future. 

And each year, we ask for your support so we can continue ensuring Beaverton’s 40,000 students have the opportunity to learn, thrive and reach their highest potential. 

With your contribution, you’ll empower BEF to transform teachers’ ideas into powerful solutions that extend beyond one student, one classroom, one school — thousands of students will have the tools they need to succeed and together we’ll advance equitable education. To do this, we fund hands-on, innovative academic programs and classroom projects. In the wake of the pandemic, that includes academic support and learning supplies that help students reconnect with school and meet academic goals. 

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that needs can and do shift quickly. That’s why our programs look a little different each year. We’re grateful that your support gives us the agility to respond to changing situations. 

By making your gift today, you show your trust in us, and for that we — and all of Beaverton’s students — thank you.

It all comes down to trust. 

Last year, more than 1,600 donors placed their trust in the Beaverton Education Foundation to identify and implement programs that helped tens of thousands of students across Beaverton’s public schools achieve their brightest potential.

Each year, new and different challenges arise for our students. And so each year, the solutions look different. What remains the same is how, since 1988, BEF ensures that Beaverton School District students thrive and have the tools they need to succeed.

How do we do it? We transform teachers’ ideas into powerful solutions that benefit thousands of students and advance equitable education. We fund innovative classroom projects, after school and summer programs, and classroom materials.

What does this look like for our community? Students in our after school programs achieve academic and athletic success. Our children have new musical opportunities, from new instruments to musical mentors. Our ​​Building STEAM 4 All program gives some students access to hands-on chemistry labs, while others learn how to design, develop and create their own products using a 3D printer. And our summer programming helps prevent and counter the dreaded “summer slide”. Not to mention our other programs focused on career training, PE and play, early education and more.

“We can’t predict exactly what our students will need in the future, but we do know how to identify the challenges and how to develop and implement innovative solutions quickly,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. 

“We’re grateful for our donors’ support, because it gives us the agility to respond to changing situations,” she says. “They place their trust in us to make the right choices for Beaverton’s students, and we take that trust very seriously.”

Answer the Call today and donate to help BEF fuel innovation that helps students thrive – empowering our youth with the skills to achieve success.