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The band room at Mountainside High School is filled with laughter and a wild cacophony of scales and notes, until the conductor taps her baton on her music stand. The room quickly quiets and the middle school band musicians turn their focus to her, with their instruments at the ready. At the end of the two-week Middle School Band Camp, these young musicians will perform for friends and family, and they are eager to practice for the performance.

The Middle School Band Camp is one of many summer enrichment programs supported by Beaverton Education Foundation this year. BEF awarded $146,000 to projects and programs that meet the academic and social emotional needs of thousands of Beaverton students this summer.

“We’re incredibly grateful for BEF’s award. We were going to have to charge for the Band Camp when BEF came through! Now the summer program is free to all 120 participating students,” says Blake Allen, Beaverton School District’s K-12 Visual and Performing Arts Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) who directs the camp. The camp serves rising seventh through ninth graders from across the District who’ve completed at least one year of band class.

What makes the Middle School Band Camp unique is the amount of individualized musical instruction students receive, says Allen. The first hour of camp is spent in “sectionals” when District music teachers and professional musicians help students focus on learning their specific instruments. 

“These morning sections are a great time to really learn their instruments, especially for students who can’t afford or don’t take private lessons on their own,” Allen adds. The young musicians also play music side by side with their teachers when the full bands rehearse for the remaining two hours of camp. “It’s really helpful for students to hear how the teachers play their own instruments, and students can learn from them when they get stuck or need advice.”

Cameron Jerde, Southridge High School’s band director, is back teaching at camp for his second summer and is struck by the improvement he sees — over the two week camp, and year to year. 

“It’s exciting to see how much every student improved this summer. The returning students especially made leaps and bounds compared to last summer,” says Jerde, who led the low brass section, which includes his main instrument the euphonium, along with tubas, trombones and baritone horns. “As younger students, they struggled to produce sound, now they’re all making better and louder sounds, filling up the horns with air.”

International School of Beaverton seventh grader Samuel can’t wait until he can come back next summer. “At camp, I get individual help playing the flute that I can’t get during band class at school,” he says. “I’m improving my skills and I learned new techniques that will help me when I join the Concert Band this year. Camp is super fun!”

“At their final performance, our Band Camp students demonstrated how much progress they made in two short, but intensive, weeks,” says Allen. “We are grateful to the Beaverton Education Foundation for making Band Camp possible for our students for free this summer.”

The Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) awarded more than $146,000 to summer enrichment programs that are meeting the academic and social emotional needs of thousands of Beaverton students this summer. 

“Educators and parents recognize that students need extra help this summer, and BEF is proud to make possible many unique and memorable learning opportunities, ones that go above and beyond everyday activities to make learning more hands-on and interactive,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. “Thanks to our donors and community partners, BEF is enhancing our students’ summer experiences and setting them up for more success — academically and socially — when school returns in September and beyond.”

Camp Achieve was first piloted by BEF ten years ago, and it has since become a central component of Beaverton School District’s summer programming to help prevent the summer slide for students at every Beaverton elementary school. But there are hundreds of students who would benefit from Camp Achieve yet can’t participate for some reason. 

This year, BEF is funding a new approach to reach those students. The Summer Boost program is helping incoming first through fifth graders close academic gaps caused by the pandemic and fight the summer slide. With a $35,000 BEF award, the schools provided take-home materials and experiences for about 375 academically impacted students at five elementary schools. Students went home for the summer with books they selected with the help of a reading specialist, along with math games and incentives for summer learning. 

“Summer Boost has the potential to make a huge impact,” says Christy Batsell, principal at Terra Linda Elementary School, one of the Summer Boost school sites. “Students chose the books in their Summer Boost bags so they would be inspired to read this summer, and the math games are designed for their grade level and to help maintain their math fact fluency. We are hoping the books and math games keep students engaged in learning throughout the summer!”

One Terra Linda parent shared how grateful they are that the Summer Boost bags are helping their daughter. “Already I’ve seen her read so much more this summer than past summers. She’s reading for longer stretches of time and is more interested in reading than she ever has been before,” the parent describes.

BEF’s summer funding reaches students in all grade levels across Beaverton. Highlights include: 

• Camp Achieve, $52,725: 3,400 Camp Achieve students across 34 schools received high-interest books to add to their growing home libraries and help them grow their love for reading. Each school also received funding to support a broad range of summer learning opportunities for their students — from books and literacy support, to math activities, social emotional learning and more. 
• Middle School Summer Band Camp, $23,000: At this two-week camp, students will play music, make new friends and become better musicians through small group lessons led by professional musicians. 
• UpGrade+, $20,000: Middle school students from Five Oaks are spending four weeks at Westview High School learning about manufacturing career opportunities. This is just one component of the year-round UpGrade+ preparatory program that connects Beaverton middle school students to the trades and bridges the opportunity gap for students who may want to explore other high-wage, high-demand careers.
• Soul of Science, $10,000: High school students at Aloha High School are creating a new, more interactive physics curriculum that will be used at several schools. Additional Kids Count Grants made this spring support summer programming so students and their families can participate in engaging and unique learning opportunities.

BEF’s funding for summer enrichment was made possible in part by grants from Meyer Memorial Trust, PGE Foundation, Juan Young Trust, Portland Business Alliance and Intel, as well as numerous contributions by individual donors.

Learn how you can support students throughout Beaverton’s public schools today.

Beaverton Education Foundation’s new PE + Play Impact Fund is growing at quite a clip since it first launched this spring. To meet the high demand for new PE and recess equipment at schools, BEF reached out to Nike for support and recently received a $25,000 grant from the Nike Community Impact Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation.

These funds will support PE + Play programming at Beaverton schools with the most need. Nike has a long history as a BEF funding partner, supporting early ideas that grew into District-wide programs, such as Camp Achieve and the Safe and Sound 4 Student Success Program (S4).

The PE + Play Impact Fund is a multifaceted approach to getting our students back on track with exercise and healthy habits. BEF will provide PE equipment to all Beaverton schools so students will have access to the tools they need to meet their physical learning goals. A phased approach kicked off this spring targeting 7,600 students at 17 elementary and middle schools; additional schools, including high schools, will be served in the coming months. 

So far this spring, BEF has funded several projects serving all grade levels, from providing equipment like balls, frisbees, and lacrosse gear, to field days and after school dance clubs, and more. District educators say that with this spring’s heavy rains keeping students under cover more than usual during recess, having new items to play with on the blacktop has been a huge help.  

PE + Play’s impact extends far beyond the positive physical effects of movement, it’s improving students’ behavior, interest in school and ability to learn. 

“We’ve seen a major decrease in behavioral incidents at recess when we offer the lacrosse equipment,” says Andrew Ratzke, an educator at Beaver Acres Elementary. “By reducing conflict and challenges on the playground, we are not only making recess more enjoyable, but improving students’ ability to engage and focus on learning. We’re seeing new friendships form and stronger connections with recess duty staff, and students have a much more positive experience every day because of this new equipment.”

By supporting BEF’s PE + Play Impact Fund, you can help every Beaverton student create life-long healthy habits and prepare for their brightest future

Beaverton Education Foundation awarded a historic $113,037 to fund 75 classroom projects during the 2021-22 academic year. Utilizing BEF’s crowdfunding platform, Beaverton’s Choice, and leveraging support from funding partners, we connected our community to more Beaverton classrooms than ever before, supporting a record number of teachers and staff throughout the District with 29% more funding than last year.

This year marks the first time BEF has awarded over $100,000 to support classroom projects, a noteworthy milestone that demonstrates BEF’s vital role in community collaboration. “We are grateful to the individuals who donate to BEF and our growing network of local businesses and community leaders who support quality public education in Beaverton,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director. “And we’re proud to facilitate and leverage the connections that make these classroom projects possible.”

“Pandemic learning has exacerbated typical classroom needs and increased the importance of hands-on, collaborative play for all ages,” explains Sarah Fisher Beachy, BEF’s teacher and community partner coordinator. “At every level, our educators need more resources to fund educational experiences for our students that go beyond what state funding can provide.” 

Beaverton’s Choice awards give our diverse community the unique support they need, when they need it. Educators approach BEF with new ideas and solutions to challenges they face, and we help them secure the funds to bring those ideas to life. This year’s funded projects ranged from 3D printers and soft-touch balls for recess and PE, to diverse books and social emotional learning supports.

“We were in an impossible situation and BEF saved the day,” explains Jeremy Kane, director of bands at Conestoga Middle School, who was in urgent need of more instruments for his popular program. “I still don’t know what we would have done if it wasn’t for BEF’s support. The direct impact they have on our Beaverton students is simply amazing.”  

“We are always looking for ways to multiply the magnitude of our donors’ generocity,” explains Baggett. “BEF plays the unique role of uniting our long-standing and new business partnerships with support from families, teachers and other individual donors. Through our Cornerstone Programs and Beaverton’s Choice projects, we deliver bottom-up, meaningful classroom transformation that has upwards of four times the impact for our students.”

Learn more about current and completed Beaverton’s Choice projects, and choose a project to support today!

Fifth grader Kamden looks cozy on a bean bag chair, lounging next to his third grade buddy as they read to each other from Stinky, a book about a loveable monster. It’s after school on a Tuesday, and Montclair Elementary School’s Reading Enrichment Program is in full swing. 

Forty students from second through fifth grades are spread out at tables, on pillows and in nooks working with teachers and fifth grade mentors — practicing reading comprehension, making connections with their schoolmates, and finding their passion for reading. 

“When we came back from distance learning, we saw a lot of younger students lacking the phonics skills they need,” says Montclair’s principal, Sean Leverty. “Some students had either given up on reading or didn’t see the possibilities or incentives of reading. Our goal is to elicit a love of reading, so they want to pick up a book. Then they can apply their reading skills to math and science and other subjects, and have a higher rate of success across the board.”

The Reading Enrichment Program focuses on helping students get comfortable reading and practicing the skills necessary to expand their reading capabilities and capacity. By meeting after school, students get extra one-on-one time with a reading teacher; and fifth grade students are also trained as reading mentors for younger students. “We’re zeroing in on the reading skills each student needs, not what the whole class is doing — it’s personalized,” Leverty explains.

The fifth grade mentors is a new component this year, one that Leverty says is such a success, it’s going to remain a core element in the future. It gives students like Kamden, who participated as a second grader, the opportunity to see their own progress when they return to the program as an experienced reader and serve as a role model for younger students. As a result, Kamden continues to improve his own reading and gains confidence that he brings back to his classwork. 

“I like helping the other kids read, and it helps me become a more fluent reader,” says Kamden. “I’ve seen some new graphic novels when I’m reading with them, which is great since I love graphic novels. I’m glad kids get options and can read what they like.”

Beaverton Education Foundation’s Kids Count Grant to the Reading Enrichment Program funds additional school buses to take students home after regular dismissal time, as well as covers costs related to teachers, snacks and books. When the program wraps up before summer, students will take home books to start their at-home libraries. 

“Montclair’s Reading Enrichment Program is a wonderful crossover between our reading and writing and after school initiatives,” says Kristine Baggett, BEF’s executive director, who visited the program in May. “We’re exploring a small group of elementary-level after school reading programs, like this one at Montclair, as pilots for a broader initiative to reach more students, as we first did with Camp Achieve and Safe and Sound 4 Student Success Program (S4).” 

Your donation can help Beaverton students of all ages find their passion for reading. Support Beaverton Education Foundation today.