Blog

“You know it, because you learned it and figured it out!” exclaimed Hazeldale Elementary School curriculum and instruction support member, Heidi Gilbertson. 

Educators understood this year’s assignment: make learning fun again and overcome some of the largest learning gaps students have ever faced. Hazeldale’s new Fact Fluency math kits are helping staff do just that. 

Filled with manipulatives and videos, the kits help students visualize fundamental skills in interesting ways and move beyond memorization techniques. Thanks to BEF’s crowdfunding platform, Beaverton’s Choice, Fact Fluency kits are now available to every grade level at the school.

Recently we were invited to attend a small group session where we saw the math kits in action. We watched as students gathered around a table, excited to discuss how many cans of tennis balls were needed for a proposed group activity. As the parameters changed, the students worked together to identify patterns and determine different ways to calculate the necessary amount of tennis balls needed.

BEF board member, Kimberly Ogadhoh, explained it best, “ The kit itself seems so simple – visually representation of math concepts using everyday objects to tell a math story – but the real expertise is the way the teacher brings the whole lesson to life, by prompting, questioning and confirming,” adding, “The kids seemed to really enjoy shouting out answers, and just being back in school in general.”

Learn more about all the great projects seeking funding on Beaverton’s Choice.

A school district speech pathologist turned to Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) for help when she faced a challenge: students were using assistive and augmentative communication (AAC) technology to communicate better in their classes, but there wasn’t enough technology for all those students’ teachers. For the technology to be most effective, both students and teachers need it. 

The solution: BEF leveraged funds from the Hoover Family Foundation to provide software enabling 34 teachers and speech and language pathologists to better serve more than 100 students in 31 specialized classroom projects across 23 schools this year. 

Providing this technology for use on educator devices, allows staff to fully incorporate AAC language into classroom routines and makes it an integral part of the school community, says Cassie Sementelli, the District’s augmentative communication specialist, who’s leading the charge implementing the new technology across the District.

“Teachers and staff benefit from being able to ‘show’ instead of just ‘tell’ students how, when and why they can use their communication tools to participate in classroom routines, demonstrate their understanding of the curriculum and interact socially with their peers,” says Sementelli. 

This spring, dedicated iPads were loaded with seven of the most frequently used assistive and augmentative communication apps to help teachers and speech and language pathologists support the communications needs of their students. In February, Sementelli hosted a “Virtual Kick Off” party for educators to provide initial training on the new tools, and more trainings will be offered as new apps are rolled out on the iPads and to provide opportunities for educators to share ideas, challenges, and expertise.

Thank you to all the Beaverton educators who go above and beyond to make sure our students have the tools they need to succeed. Make a donation today to help every student prepare for their brightest future.

Celebrate Staff Appreciation Week and honor your dedicated staff members with a gift to the Beaverton Education Foundation. 

With a minimum $10 donation per staff member, BEF will send a personalized note to say “Thanks for all you do” and a $5 Dutch Bros gift card. Your donation amount will not be shared with the honoree. A portion of each purchase helps fund BEF awards to Beaverton’s Choice staff-driven classroom projects, from STEAM to reading to social emotional learning, and more. 

Make your special gift for Staff Appreciation Week by Tuesday, May 3.

How it works:

• Visit this site and submit the name of the educator, staff member or coach you want to honor
• Include their school and a brief message of thanks
• BEF will deliver your personalized note of thanks and gift during Staff Appreciation Week, May 2-6

For multiple honorees with the same message, please email melyndas@beavertonedfoundation.org for assistance.

After six years on BEF’s board of directors, Jennifer Burran concludes her service next month, and we’re incredibly grateful for her contributions. During her tenure on the board, she served as board chair during the 2020-2021 school year, guiding the organization through its first responses to the pandemic. She’s worked in philanthropy for more than 20 years, including at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Lemelson Foundation, and is now the director of grant operations at the Fidelity Foundations. She has two children who spent many years in the Beaverton School District. We asked Jennifer a few questions about her inspiration for supporting BEF and how her professional background influences her legacy with us.

Why did you join the BEF board?

Not long after my family moved here from Baltimore, I considered volunteering for our school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), but when I heard about BEF, it was really intriguing. I have this passion for creating equitable experiences for children and I thought that through BEF, I could contribute on a larger scale. I could impact all of the schools, not just one.

How has your background working in philanthropy benefited BEF?

I have a unique lens for understanding what funders look for in terms of organizational strengths, and that includes diversity. Diversity can manifest itself in leadership, board membership and the funding base. I started conversations with the board and BEF’s executive director Kristine Baggett about diversifying the organization and especially the board, and I think we’re starting to make good progress there.

What are you most proud of from your time on the BEF board?

As I said, we’ve really stepped up recruitment of a diverse board, which is very important to me. I’m also really proud of my contributions related to operations, since that’s a skill set I bring to the board. I was on the team that revamped the Beaverton’s Choice platform and marketing plan a few years ago, and I’ve worked with the staff to document policies and procedures. I also feel really good about the types of projects we’ve funded, including the Middle School Trades Exploration Program and Camp Achieve. 

What impresses you most about BEF?

BEF demonstrates community strength as a collective, that’s the magic of BEF. It brings together so many different businesses and individuals in Beaverton to support the schools and appreciate all our teachers and educators. It gives me a sense of community and that I’m contributing to a larger effort.

What are your favorite things to do in Beaverton?

I love spending time outdoors in the beautiful parks in Beaverton, whether it’s the Tualatin Hills Nature Park or the pathways through Bethany.

Join the BEF board to follow in Jennifer’s footsteps and make an impact across all Beaverton schools. Learn how to volunteer or nominate a leader today.

Thanks to our generous donors Beaverton Education Foundation has awarded $85,447, funding 55 classroom projects for the 2021-22 academic year.

Step up to the Plate – BASE Needs PE!

Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering 
Students Served: 300+
Recipients: Christine Muggli and Aprill Mcallister
Award: $3,300

Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering (BASE) PE students have the resources to create strong connections and learn from each other thanks to their recently funded Beaverton’s Choice campaign. These critical skills are especially important in a larger school community and for those still recovering from pandemic isolation.

Simple items such as soft toss footballs, badminton nets, frisbees, goals and soccer balls build a more robust, fulfilling experience for students and will go a long way to create the foundation for collaborative team building activities that are necessary to facilitate large PE classes with 40+ students.

Creativity in 3D!

Arts & Communication Magnet Academy 
Students Served: 700
Recipient: Dawn Morgan
Award: $915

Funding provided by BEF’s Building STEAM 4 All Initiative

Arts & Communication Magnet Academy (ACMA) students’ 3D printer dreams will become reality thanks to our generous community. With the funding of their recent Beaverton’s Choice campaign, all ACMA students will be able to design, prototype and refine their creative visions in their new 3D Design Space. 

Resources for the Resource Room

Beaver Acres Elementary School
Students Served: 700
Recipient: Molly Kershaw
Award: $288

Resource Room students at Beaver Acres now have endless possibilities to unlock their full potential with easily adaptable tools to support varying abilities. Thanks to support from Beaverton’s Choice, educators can fully engage with students in small groups to foster independent social skills, fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities while adapting concepts to each student’s personalized ways of learning. 

Quest for 3D printers

Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering 
Students Served: 300+
Recipients: Dawn Morgan and Melissa Shell
Award: $1,550

Funding provided by BEF’s Building STEAM 4 All Initiative

Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering (BASE) students can now bring their ideas to life with 3D printers thanks to the recent funding of their Beaverton’s Choice project. All BASE students, classes and clubs will have access to printers that will allow students to print everything from cube puzzles for 6th-grade Design & Modeling classes to custom avatars for CREW classes and STEM kits for our 6-12th graders’ Service-Learning project. The possibilities are endless! 

Help Kinnaman Create Calming Spaces in every classroom!

Kinnaman Elementary School
Students Served: 522
Recipient: Katy Rubenstein
Award: $1,920

Thanks to our generous community, every class at Kinnaman Elementary School now has a consistent space where students can learn to deal with big emotions. Funds raised through their Beaverton’s Choice project will ensure flexible seats, calming strategy posters, fidgets and more are available to support students’ emotional well-being while students build Social Emotional Learning skills they will use for a lifetime.

Help Hazeldale Hawks Build Fact Fluency!

Hazeldale Elementary School
Students Served: 400
Recipient: Heidi Gilbertson
Award: $2,310

Funding provided by First Tech Federal Credit Union as part of BEF’s Building STEAM 4 All Initiative

Educators at Hazeldale Elementary can help students overcome increased math gaps with the help of new Building Fact Fluency math kits. Made possible through Beaverton’s Choice crowdfunding, kits build excitement for math by showing how numbers work during interactive daily classroom and small group lessons.

Teaching Tools to Engage and Support

Conestoga Middle School
Students Served: 895
Recipients: Creighton Brown, Maggie Dally, Dean Fassnidge, Lisa Lewis, Deborah Nystrom, Emily Price, Melissa Schuck and Kara Walker
Award: $3,515

Funding provided by BEF’s Building STEAM 4 All Initiative

All Conestoga Middle School teachers can seamlessly interact with students around the classroom while teaching engaging and innovative lessons with new iPad technology purchased with funds from Deborah Nystrom’s successful Beaverton’s Choice campaign – Teaching Tools to Engage and Support.

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.