Beloved and highly recognized Mountainside High School art teacher Tamara Ottum partners with the Beaverton Education Foundation every year on a variety of endeavors including the Herzog-Meier Senior Art Scholarship Awards competition and Beaverton’s Choice campaigns. Tamara recently shared with us the impact BEF has on her students’ lives.
Why is BEF’s support of Beaverton schools more important now than ever?
Funding in education is always in flux. With the pandemic, we have even more needs in the community than before, and it’s crucial to have resources to help fill those gaps. BEF helps streamline community money directly to programs in a way I could never achieve as a single teacher. And as an art teacher, I love how supportive BEF is of the arts.
How has BEF helped reach and engage your students and prepare them for a brighter future?
By collecting and pooling donations, BEF makes opportunities available for educators to create projects they might not otherwise have the funds to realize. My students and I have benefited several times from BEF’s generosity, including gallery visits for our National Art Honor Society students, as well as many art supplies.
You’ve been a volunteer with Answer the Call, BEF’s annual fundraiser, for years. Why do you keep coming back?
Not only is the fundraiser a wonderful cause, but it’s so much fun. BEF creates an energized environment that makes the kids laugh and build camaraderie.
For the past 22 years, student volunteers from high schools across the District have united our community each fall to support Beaverton Education Foundation’s annual campaign – Answer the Call.Your gift makes an impact and funds innovative academic enrichment and advancement programs in all of Beaverton’s 54 schools.
The Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) is honored to be selected as a WE Award recipient by the Beaverton School District in recognition of our work to prepare Beaverton students for online learning success last fall. BEF’s leadership helped organize a supply drive and raise funds so that 16,000 Beaverton students could receive Student Success Kits. The District’s WE Awards annually recognize community partners who support Beaverton schools; this year’s ceremony was held virtually on October 28.
The Beaverton Education Foundation is the only community-based nonprofit partner that focuses solely on the needs of Beaverton’s public schools, educators and students. Money raised by BEF in the community is reinvested locally and reaches all 54 schools across the District. Last year, 34,000 students benefited from BEF-supported classroom projects and academic enrichment programs.
“This award harks back to Summer 2020 when we realized schools would not be returning in-person,” remembers Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. “We already knew from the spring that students were struggling to connect to distance learning. We were asked by the District to partner in a comprehensive approach to support Beaverton students.”
BEF quickly launched a multi-faceted Back-to-School Campaign – which included Equip, Connect and Engage components each addressing specific areas of concern.
Back to School Supply Drive
The Equip Campaign, which the WE Award recognizes, focused on Student Success Kits. In August 2020, BEF partnered with the District to help students in need with kits that contained pencils and pens, glue sticks, spiral notebooks, colored markers and art supplies, highlighters and black sharpies. Over two days, community members brought donated supplies to Beaverton High School. The District purchased additional items with financial support from BEF and other community partners.
“Beaverton families struggle with a range of challenges. A bag of new school supplies really made a difference for many families,” reflects Baggett.
“It was a herculean task getting these kits together. BEF’s Equip Campaign, which raised $35,000, enabled the District to purchase key supplies for our families in need,” says Christina Mackin, the District’s community engagement coordinator.
Watch BSD’s video featuring BEF’s Executive Director Kristine Baggett
Re-engaging Students
In addition to the school supply drive, BEF spearheaded pandemic learning support throughout the year. “As important as those pencils and notebooks were, we work all year to break down barriers that keep students from doing well in school,” says Baggett. “Educators come to us with great ideas to help their kids, and we make them happen.”
Following school supply distribution, BEF supported a variety of activities to re-engage students with school. BEF purchased mobile equipment for tech teachers to take ‘tech on the road’, helping families in outdoor community spaces learn how to access distance learning platforms. School principals connected with students who had been missing from school since March 2020 through intensive, 1:1 coaching around learning from home and by providing new ‘good fit’ books to inspire students’ love of reading.
“It wasn’t that we hadn’t reached out to families, we had,” remembers Kate Kelley, family outreach and engagement specialist at Vose Elementary School. “When I finally tracked down one family whose kindergartener hadn’t been in school since March 2020, her mother didn’t know about school starting in September.”
With BEF’s help, not only did this student receive a Student Success Kit, the school spent time with the mom to help her master technology. “She was finally able to log her first grader onto class thanks to this help,” continues Kelley.
Then when schools moved to hybrid instruction, BEF was responsive to educator needs. “As soon as we heard that schools were going back into hybrid online and in-person, we knew educators would approach us for help,” says Sarah Fisher Beachy, BEF’s teacher and community partner coordinator. “Within a few days we had over 70 requests from teachers, all really creative ideas for making hybrid work better for their students.”
“As important as those pencils and notebooks were, we work all year, every year to break down barriers that keep students from doing well in school,” says Baggett. “Teachers have so many great solutions, and we help bring them to scale for more Beaverton students.”
By empowering change from the bottom up, Beaverton Education Foundation is able to support innovation and reach into more classrooms and more schools across the District.
Beaverton Education Foundation’s annual campaign – Answer the Call – is receiving tremendous support from our connected community. Thanks to First Tech Federal Credit Union, early donors will have their gift generously matched, ensuring your contribution goes twice as far.
Your gift today will make TWO TIMES the impact and support innovative academic enrichment and advancement programs in all of Beaverton’s 54 schools.
Since its inception in 1988, the Beaverton Education Foundation has invested $4.9 million in programs and projects at Beaverton schools. These funds help our educators solve today’s immediate problems and are invested strategically to launch and sustain long-standing Cornerstone Programs reaching students in all grades across the District.
Save the Date Student teams representing clubs and groups from all Beaverton’s High Schools will join community members and District leaders for nine nights of calling, from November 2-17. We hope you’ll answer when they call to ask for your support for BEF.
Sato Elementary fifth graders imaginations’ set sail as they worked together to build a full-sized row boat from scratch. Drawing upon previous STEAM lessons, students took a hands-on role with every step of the boat making process including design, engineering, 3d printing and building – gaining lifelong skills that are often difficult to achieve with traditional classroom curriculum.
“The students’ confidence grew each day as the boat began to take shape,” explained Sato parent, Tina Quan. “You could visibly see their excitement and pride, having made this functioning row boat with their own hands.”
Partnering with Beaverton Education Foundation, Sato staff utilized the Beaverton’s Choice fundraising hub and matching funds from First Tech Federal Credit Union to meet their goal. After combining money from the school and their PTO, educators were able to successfully Set Sail on their project.
First Tech Federal Credit Union’s leadership and support extends to all Beaverton schools as they generously match early donations to BEF’s 22nd annual campaign.Donate today and your gift will help TWICE as many hands-on programs and projects.
As we return to the classroom, will you Answer the Calland support our educators’ work to build lifelong skills?
For the past 22 years, student volunteers from high schools across the District have united our community each fall to support Beaverton Education Foundation’s annual campaign – Answer the Call.
Your gift makes an impact and funds innovative academic enrichment and advancement programs in all of Beaverton’s 54 schools.
Since its inception in 1988, the Beaverton Education Foundation has invested $4.9 million in programs and projects at Beaverton schools such as:
Cornerstone Programs — Total funded: $3,390,641
Band Together
Building STEAM 4 All
High School Community Club Awards
Kids Count After School and Summer Programs
Safe and Sound 4 Student Success (S4)
Classroom Projects — Total funded: $1,114,703
Beaverton’s Choice Awards
Classroom Innovation Grants
Special Initiatives — Total funded: $392,315
Back to School
Future Bus
Hybrid Response
iX Innovation Expo
Request for Innovation
Your contributions fuel classroom innovation that helps students thrive – empowering our youth with the skills to achieve success.
Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) is a 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofit organization that connects community and classrooms. Since 1988, BEF has helped Beaverton School District educators access community resources for innovative classroom projects, after school and summer programs, and classroom materials. Our mission is to ensure Beaverton School District students thrive and to prepare them for their brightest future. We transform teachers’ ideas into powerful solutions that benefit thousands of students and advance equitable education.
