Beaverton Education Foundation

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  • Grant Update – Summer Construction Trades Exploration

    Grant Update – Summer Construction Trades Exploration

    Measure twice, cut once!

    The Middle School Trades Exploration Pilot Program students mastered design, demolition, drywall, carpentry, and concrete work, all while team building and creating a professional quality, useful installation.

    Summer Trades Exploration offered a four-week program connecting students to the construction trades. Thirty middle schoolers participated, and an additional fifty were on the waiting list to attend the pilot. The program was designed to bridge the opportunity gap for Beaverton School District students who may want to explore other high-wage, in-demand employment options outside of traditional college pathways as they move through their high school careers. In collaboration with industry partners, students designed and completed a construction project on-site at BSD Central Office, worked with multiple professionals in a variety of trades and visited real-time District building projects as part of this summer program. The program provided a hands-on educational foundation for students in the following areas:

    • Equipment safety
    • Industry safety procedures
    • Construction math skills
    • Basic drafting, design and building techniques

    Regional industry growth in the area of construction expects employment openings to grow by 31% through 2022. Current projections challenge economic expansion in our state beyond the 2022 mark with the expectation that the trades will lose 17% of the workforce as older workers retire. Industry partners agree that engaging students at the middle school level in non-college-bound careers is a gap to bridge in order to meet workforce demand.

    The pilot focused on three primary objectives:

    1. Develop skills that carry over into the traditional classroom

    1. Summer program participants developed a building design project focusing on teamwork, creativity, and professional work skills
    2. Construction Technology incorporates core content skills that are critical in increasing student outcomes in math and reading
    3. Students benefit from a conceptual application to real-world hands-on problem solving.

    2. Introduce Middle School students to CTE in our district

    1. This program helps build middle school interest in CTE programs across the district before students enter high school
    2. Nationally, 93% of all students who take one CTE class in high school graduate with their class
    3. We believe that a free summer program will attract families of all backgrounds.

    3. Expose students to alternative high-wage, high-demand careers in construction industry

    1. Provide our middle school students opportunities to explore careers that they are not ordinarily exposed to in the classroom setting so they might add that experience to their career exploration tool belt before they enter 9th grade
    2. Exposure to Construction Technology also leads to other related fields such as design and engineering

    Current partners in the work include:

  • Grant Update: Highland Park Middle School

    Grant Update: Highland Park Middle School

    Ben Lloyd of Highland Park Middle School shared the experiences and outcomes of the Mini Arcade build and Library Transport Vehicle (LTV) projects. Both projects were generously funded through BEF’s Beaverton’s Choice Program with matching funds provided by Intel Corp.

    “We wanted to identify hands-on experiences to teach design and engineering in a fun and relevant way. We were able to achieve this by having the kids come up with an original arcade cabinet design and solving a challenge in our library.

    The response to the mini arcade build was overwhelmingly positive among the kids. I can honestly say that the kids have had more fun through the design and building process than even playing with the arcades afterward, and that is saying a lot.There was a core group of about a dozen kids who were involved with the initial design of the mini cabinets and then dozens more who have gotten to tinker with the kits and learn how the Raspberry Pi software platform works.

    As our team worked to minimize our expenses, we determined we had enough money to take on another design challenge. The students identified challenges in our school that they could design and assemble and came up with this amazing electric vehicle solution – the LTV. Over 100 of our current students worked on both the electric vehicle and the arcade games.

    With the support of BEF and all of the donors to the project, we are positioned to carry out the same type of project each year. We developed a kit for the arcade cabinets which we can easily tear down and redesign with a different group of kids. We have found the Raspberry Pi boards to be challenging but also extremely open-ended for future use. The LTV also gives our students a clear visual reminder of what they can do.”

  • Grant Update – Kids Count Grant

    Grant Update – Kids Count Grant

    Learning never stops at our BEF-funded summer elementary programs.

    More than 500 elementary students will spend the summer improving their reading, writing and math skills.

  • I’d Like to Double My Gift!

    I’d Like to Double My Gift!

    We’re so proud that 190 community members have made 6 projects happen with their kind gifts during the month of May. All will be put to good use now and into our next school year. One community leader has stepped up in a big way – offering to double gifts made from contributors who have not yet given this year, up to $10,000. That means if 100 families new to BEF made gifts of $100 each, we would raise an additional $10,000 and meet our campaign goal.

    If you’ve never given to BEF before, or it has been a while since your last gift, here is a chance to double the impact of your gift!

    If you already give to BEF, thank you!

    Each of us coming together can have a meaningful impact on our students next year. Please make a donation today of any amount to make sure our classrooms are ready when students come back next fall.

    You can donate online here…Please make your gift today!

  • Reflections – Bill Piwonka Board Member

    Reflections – Bill Piwonka Board Member

    Bill Piwonka is nearing the completion of his second and final three-year term as a Board Member of the Beaverton Education Foundation. We asked him to share some reflections on his service and BEF.

    “I am a strong proponent of public-school education and believe all students should have access to innovative educational experiences. I passionately believe in the work the Beaverton Education Foundation does to help provide all Beaverton students access to the people, tools and experiences that expand the depth, breadth and relevance of their academic journey.

    I grew up in the public schools, am a father of two boys who attended Beaverton schools. It shocked me how far funding for education has decreased since I was a student. BEF helps fund innovative classroom activities and experiences that otherwise could not be offered.

    I am nearing the completion of my sixth year on the Board. Two things stand out for me:

    Helping students. I quickly realized how much fun it was to work with the students during the annual BEF Phone-A-Thon as they reached out to the community to help us raise funds that enable us to support so many projects.

    Being part of the group that launched Beaverton’s Choice, which is the crowd funding site that brings together the community and our classrooms. There are always projects that need your assistance with a monetary donation, resources or even volunteering time. 100% of your donation goes to the project you choose.

    There are so many ways to get involved and support something that is meaningful to you individually. The BEF was my first non-profit board experience and I’ve really enjoyed it and now have expanded to other ones. I just find it incredibly rewarding to contribute in some way for the betterment of our community.”

    In response to our final question for Bill, what news story about BEF would you most like to see in the future?, he explained, “I’d love to see a story about how Beaverton’s Choice has taken off and has the backing of the entire Beaverton Community – families, those without children in our schools, businesses, etc. – helping to fund these cool, innovative and educational projects.”