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Squeals and whoops fill the room as fourth graders power on small blue robots that resemble cars to begin the day’s technology lesson. As Rock Creek Elementary students explore what these tiny tech machines can do, they quickly set their sights on accomplishing their first task — discovering ways color-coded tiles can be manipulated to make the robots move. Challenge accepted! 

These Sphero indi robots are only one of over a dozen sets of tools that comprise the dynamic, expanding Innovation Library. With BEF funding, the Innovation Library facilitates sharing devices to optimize student engagement using a cost-effective system. It is an example of the positive impact of BEF’s STEAM-focused collaboration with the district that began more than a decade ago. 

“Along with the valuable computer knowledge our students are gaining, they are also discovering it is ok to make mistakes along the way,” said Rock Creek’s Technology Instructor, Marjorie Downing. “And, if you stick with it, even the smallest adjustment can result in success — that is a skill that will last far beyond the classroom.”

The indi robot activity is the culmination of weeks of curriculum, including creating paper robots and understanding the fundamentals of computer coding. Words like testing, debugging and workarounds are now commonplace with even Rock Creek’s youngest learners. 

“The simplicity of indi robots transcends gaps in both age and ability, including our English Language Learners,” explains Downing. “Today everyone is able to be a part of this experience at their level.” 

As an added bonus, Downing appreciates the opportunity to teach technology concepts away from the screen, in a hands-on tactile environment, and will be able to do so all month long while on loan from the innovation library.

“Our partnership with BEF has made it possible for us to provide unified and consistent STEAM experiences for all students,” said Dawn Guildner, BSD instructional innovation teacher on special assignment. “BEF’s support goes beyond one school or age level, it enhances student experiences throughout the entire district.”

BEF’s support for the Innovation Library was made possible through generous funding from First Tech Federal Credit Union, Intel and a myriad of individual and organizational donors supporting BEF’s Building STEAM 4 All initiative.

Thanks to our generous donors Beaverton Education Foundation has awarded $109,052, funding 57 classroom projects so far for the 2022-23 academic year.

Help Hiteon’s Garden Grow

Hiteon Elementary School
Students Served: 15 in EGC
Recipients: Stephanie Marshall & Heather Pfeiffer
Award: $3,888

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative

Hiteon Elementary students will grow closer as a community and learn hands-on life skills, thanks to our community’s support to restore and add to the school’s garden. Each year students from the Emotional Growth Class (EGC) plant seeds to learn about plant cycles, weather, insects and working together – staff even take time in the summer to weed and water the plants. 

Inspire Young artists + engineers with Makerspace materials!

Jacob Wismer Elementary School
Students Served: 80
Recipients: Andrea Varadi, Saumi Bonds & Shawn Vuksich
Award: $1,802

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative

Young learners at Jacob Wismer Elementary have consumable Makerspace materials needed to fuel creativity and imagination. Makerspace areas support fine motor development and encourage hands-on problem solving as students interact with the design and engineering process. 

Music Moves Us – Create Musicians at Kinnaman!

Kinnaman Elementary School
Students Served: 494
Recipients: Carmen Roberti, Stefanie Janin & Carolynn Langston
Award: $2,000

Funding provided in part by BEF Band Together

Kinnaman Elementary’s young musicians are making sweet music thanks to support for their recent Beaverton’s Choice project. Funds went toward repairing existing instruments and purchasing new ones including: ukuleles, glockenspiels, flexatones, kokorikos, wind chimes, hand drums and so much more!

Code Unplugged!

BASE & ACMA 
Students Served: 1,571
Recipient: Dawn Morgan
Award: $5,350

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative

Students at ACMA & BASE have increased access to see their code in action, thanks to support for new Sphero Bolt robots. These robots give students diverse ways to engage in science, technology, exploration and inquiry through projects including coding light shows to music and programming robots to navigate a maze. 

Communi-tea Cafe

Jacob Wismer Elementary School
Students Served: 593
Recipient: Pamela Jacobsen
Award: $866

Thanks to our community’s support, Jacob Wismer Elementary students will enjoy each other’s company in their school’s new Communi-tea Café. The Cafe offers a space to enrich language skills, grow self-confidence and facilitate imaginative play, while in a calm, creative environment.

Sphero Robot Upgrade!

Bonny Slope Elementary School
Students Served: 685
Recipients: Jeff Lewis & Michele Simantel
Award: $2,653

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative

Bonny Slope Elementary students are expanding their ability to think critically, while building coding skills with updated Bolt robots. The upgraded robots function smoothly, have a longer battery life and have a broader application in different areas of learning, helping students to see how their code can directly influence and program a robot to perform a task. 

Help our Falcon Science Students Soar

Five Oaks Middle School
Students Served: 130 
Recipients: Kristine Rice & Michael Price
Award: $2,080

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative

Five Oaks 8th grade science students will become experts on a current species and their ancestor’s adaptations with a trip to the zoo, complete with an interactive and unparalleled contextual platform to share their scientific understandings with their peers and view diverse species with a scientifically critical eye.

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.

BEF funding makes it possible for Beaverton High School to meet students where they are — tapping into their creativity and building connections at school.  

A handful of teenagers with digital turntables under their fingertips are gently swaying to the music only they can hear in their headphones. After a lesson in mixing beats, they’re now making their own music. This isn’t a regular class at Beaverton High School, it’s Bigger Than Hip Hop, a special program offered at the end of their school day made possible by funding from the Beaverton Education Foundation. It’s one of 112 programs BEF funded across all grade levels so far this school year. 

Since the program started last spring, more than 85 students have accessed classes in hip hop-related arts — DJing, fashion design, graffiti, dance, lyrics and beat production — taught by local artists of color. With new sessions beginning every few weeks, students have several opportunities to try new things. This spring’s sessions will culminate in a multi-disciplinary show on May 26 showcasing the students’ artistic accomplishments. 

“Without BEF, there is no way that we’d be able to offer this program at Beaverton High School. BEF is making a big impact so we can offer the program at this scale — with six different topics and so many sessions,” says Tymon Emch, the Beaverton High School chemistry and science teacher who facilitates Bigger Than Hip Hop. “We’re also a proof of concept and hope that our success means the program can take off at more high schools.” 

Bigger Than Hip Hop engages students who might not otherwise tap into more traditional school activities like sports, band, or theater, says Tymon. “A lot of teenagers are into hip hop, and this program is a way they can explore their passions, hobbies and artistic expression without having to be a professional or take a whole class.”

The lessons students learn extend well beyond how to sew or mix beats. Many studies show that when students participate in extracurricular activities at school, Tymon explains, they have better attendance and make meaningful connections with adults in ways they can’t in a busy classroom. 

Brynly, a sophomore in the DJing class, says she’s learning how to make mistakes. “What I find really amazing about DJing is that you just have to go with it, there’s no hard-set thing that you have to do. It’s helped me learn to go with the flow in life. At the beginning, if I made a mistake, I would be like, ‘stop the music, I need to start over.’ But now I know it’s okay to make mistakes. I can carry that with me for the rest of my life.”

Other students like senior Nick appreciate the balance Bigger Than Hip Hop provides in contrast to his multiple advanced placement classes and intense athletics. “This is a great way to learn stress-free at school. There’s no pressure to perform, and you get to learn at your own pace. It really allows you to think more and do things that you feel happy with, and that makes you feel fulfilled,” he says. 

“The Bigger Than Hip Hop introductory workshops help students overcome the initial fear of trying something new or not looking cool because they are a beginner,” says Tymon. “They’re learning it’s okay to try new things and explore passions in life.” 

As seasoned Beaverton educators, Robin and Len Case know the ins and outs of what students and teachers need to thrive. They played two important roles that helped secure necessary resources that brought innovative ideas to life in Beaverton classrooms. 

Not only have they been generous donors to the Beaverton Education Foundation for 22 years, but for decades as teachers and then principals, they benefited from BEF’s support. Robin and Len both applied for several Beaverton’s Choice awards over the years, and encouraged numerous teachers to tap into BEF to fund projects. 

As donors, they are eager to continue supporting BEF rather than individual schools because it’s for all students. Len says, “BEF spreads out across the district and has a process to make sure the funds are going to good use in an equitable and fair way. It’s so positive to read about where BEF’s money goes — how teachers are helping kids be successful and how kids are benefiting from it.”

“Teachers came to us with an idea and needed money, and we’d have to tell them that our budget was all allocated for the year. But we’d give them another option — encouraging them to apply for grants from BEF,” says Robin. “With BEF’s support, our teachers were excited to implement their projects, which means our students had amazing opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Robin and Len are well-known across the district for their long careers as teachers and principals, and Len jokes that they failed at retirement, since they returned to leadership roles after retiring the first time. Len was a teacher and then principal at several Beaverton high schools. Robin taught elementary school before becoming an elementary school principal.  

Robin joined the BEF board in 2005 and served for six years. “I’d seen BEF do so much good for our students. Being a member of the board was definitely something I wanted to do. It’s a great group of parents and community members,” she says.

Robin and Len may be retired but they remain committed to Beaverton students. “We have many friends who are still working in the district. We want our schools, students, and Beaverton community to succeed, and that’s why we continue to support BEF.”

Thanks to our generous donors Beaverton Education Foundation has awarded $85,675, funding 50 classroom projects so far for the 2022-23 academic year.

Focusing on Literacy with Visual Arts

Kinnaman Elementary School 
Students Served: 175
Recipient: Jennifer Janke
Award: $1,200

Multilingual students at Kinnaman Elementary will learn the parallel skills of photography and writing, thanks to our community’s support. Many multilingual students struggle with writing as they grow older. The introduction of new cameras and film will help students reclaim their writing joy and express themselves visually.

Jody’s Little Free Library Space

Mountain View Middle School
Students Served: 900
Recipient: Lea Molczan & Madeline Robinette
Award: $4,000

Funding provided in part by The Mike Osborne Memorial Award Fund and The Anne Kelly Ofstun Tubby Endowment Fund

Mountain View Middle School’s reading intervention teacher and instructional coach, Jody Davis, knew that not all students begin middle school with a love of reading, but it was her goal that they would leave Mountain View with that passion. Jody’s sudden passing in November has left a void in our community – her passion and success will be honored with a free little library and cozy space in the Mountain View library for our students to relax, reflect and read. 

Full STEAM to OMSI!

Vose Elementary School
Students Served: 137
Recipients: Inez Alvarez, Kara McGehee, Alexis Moore, Abbey Morariu, Sharon Treadgold, Rachel Voth & Maricela Xuncax
Award: $2,117

Funding provided in part by the BEF Building STEAM 4 All initiative and the Vose PTO

Every Vose Elementary 3rd grader will enjoy hands-on cultural learning opportunities and unparalleled STEAM education at their upcoming visit to OMSI. Thanks to our generous community, students will experience science concepts they are learning in the classroom come alive as they go through OMSI’s exciting learning stations. 

Extra! Extra! Bring the Aloha student newspaper back!

Aloha High School
Students Served: 1,600
Recipient: Kathryn Helmke
Award: $2,558

Funding provided in part by the Go Warriors! Opportunity Fund and the Aloha High School PTO Booster Club

All Warriors will experience the value of journalism and the role local news plays in our lives thanks to our community’s support for the printing of Aloha High School’s monthly newspaper. The Pineapple Post. It has been 10 years since Aloha has regularly published a newspaper, but now they have a trained staff and resources to do so. 

Mental Health Awareness Field Trip

McKinley Elementary School & Rachel Carson School of Environmental Science
Students Served: 21
Recipient: Amy Grey
Award: $430

Students from Amy Grey’s 5th grade class at McKinley Elementary School will visit Helping Hands Healing Sanctuary to learn how farm animals can support mental health. This opportunity was made possible by our generous community and spearheaded as a student-led service project in an exciting collaboration with Rachel Carson Middle School.

Whitford WEB: Where Everybody Belongs

Whitford Middle School
Students Served: 320
Recipient: Mary Dietrich
Award: $550

Whitford Middle School students have opportunities for increased camaraderie and collaboration thanks to your support for a nationally-recognized student support program, Where Everybody Belongs (WEB). WEB pairs 8th-grade mentors with small groups of 6th-graders to facilitate social and academic relationships throughout the year. 8th graders learn leadership and presentation skills, while building confidence in their ability to enact positive change within the community. 

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.