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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.

Thanks to our generous donors including:  AHS Go Warriors! Opportunity Fund, the Anne Kelly Ofstun Tubby Fund, BEF Building STEAM 4 All Program, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Intel Corp., and the Mike Osborne Memorial Award Fund we have awarded $37,069, funding 22 classroom projects for the 2021-22 academic year.

Don’t Let the Beat Stop

Conestoga Middle School
Students Served: 250
Recipient: Jeremy Kane
Award: $6,112

Funding provided through the BEF New Project Match

The Don’t Let the Beat Stop project raised more than double the initial goal, totaling over $6,000 in just 4 days. Additional funds raised were used to buy beginner books and even more instruments for more than 80 Conestoga Middle School families requesting instruments for their students.

Joyful Spanish Classes

Whitford Middle School
Students Served: 145
Recipient: Kessa Shipley
Award: $1,125

Funding provided through the BEF New Project Match

Funds raised with the Joyful Spanish Classes project provide access to Martina Bex, a system filled with interactive, hands- and brains-on based materials for all Whitford Middle School Spanish students. After just the first unit, many students expressed how much fun they were having in Spanish class. One student specifically said, “I didn’t think I was going to like Spanish, but this is really fun.”

Fir Grove Technology Investment

Fir Grove Elementary School!
Students Served: 365
Recipient: Lindsay Ruhnke
Award: $2,892

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

Fir Grove students will experience code come alive during their STEAM Lab Robotic unit thanks to community donations + Intel Corp matching funds. The Fir Grove Technology Investment project helps students think, create and design solutions to real world problems. 

Playful Inquiry and Exploration

Bethany Elementary School!
Students Served: 80
Recipient: Dori George
Award: $1,090

Funding provided through the BEF New Project Match

Bethany Elementary kindergarten classrooms can now provide more opportunities to play and explore without limitations thanks to the Playful Inquiry and Exploration project. Funds raised were used to re-imagine space so students can take risks, make messes and learn that mistakes are an opportunity to try again. 

Phoenix Rising: Climbing to New Heights

Beaverton Academy of Science & Engineering (BASE)
Students Served: 200
Recipient: Stella Bergman
Award: $1,000

Funding provided through the BEF New Project Match

BASE 6th and 9th graders were welcomed to school with a fun and interactive orientation day at Tree to Tree adventure park with funding received from the Phoenix Rising: Climbing to New Heights project. The off-site team-building sessions provided fun bonding activities and introduced community-building skills students will continue to develop throughout the school year.

Mountaineer Tech Lab

Mountain View Middle School
Students Served: 188
Recipient: Morgan Skjeie
Award: $1,470

Funding provided through Intel & the Building STEAM 4 ALL program

Mountain View Middle School students can now study the basics of coding, web design, digital manufacturing and video production using a new classroom 3D printer. Students can also explore different interests to help choose future high school electives.

ACMA Robotics Team

Arts & Communication Magnet Academy (ACMA)
Students Served: 12
Recipient: Dottie Passmore
Award: $3,750

Funding provided through Intel & the BEF STEAM 4 ALL program

The ACMA Robotics team’s rookie season has officially started thanks to funds raised to cover registration, start-up costs, tools and parts. This program will help prepare students for life after high school by giving them skills to be college and career ready. 

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.

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. 

BEF’s annual fall fundraiser, Answer the Call, connects the community with the classroom in a very special way. For nine evenings this November, community volunteers, BEF staff, and student club members and advisors from every Beaverton high school take to the phones. They will be asking our community to support BEF and help ensure every Beaverton student is inspired and prepared for their brightest future. These dedicated educators and student volunteers are the heart of our schools, and we’re grateful for their partnership. Put a face to the names, and meet some of our student volunteers.

Don’t wait until your phone rings to support Beaverton Education Foundation. Answer the Call and make your donation online today.