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.