Beaverton Education Foundation outlines grants, partnerships and second annual winter food campaign

Lauren Garrett, executive director of the Beaverton Education Foundation, updated the board on the foundation’s 2024–25 impact and previewed initiatives for the coming school year.

Garrett said BEF reached every one of the district’s 54 schools with funding or programs and reported specific outcomes: BEF invested in 127,670 additional academic hours and supported 2,048 students in career‑connected, real‑work experiences, she said. The foundation awarded 40 Kids Count grants totaling $155,000 that reached more than 7,000 students; Garrett highlighted a Montclair Elementary summer-reading project in which students who participated showed measurable reading-level gains on fall assessments.

BEF also reported work in middle-school academic supports (the S4 homework/attendance incentive program), lending-library technology investments (robots and makerspace equipment), career-connected learning at Aloha High School and the first winter break campaign in 2024. Garrett said last year’s winter campaign enabled the foundation to meet requests from every school and that this year the campaign will target larger gift cards — $50 each — and a larger goal, reflecting increased community need.

Board liaisons who serve with BEF praised the foundation’s data-driven approach and community partnerships. Directors asked for more detail about equity targeting; Holly Van Houten, BEF’s director of programs and grants, said many grants are explicitly targeted to Title I or other high-need students and described the lending library’s reach into 29 schools.

Garrett and Van Houten said BEF had secured city and foundation grants (a city of Beaverton grant for extended learning at two elementary schools and a KLA Foundation award to support teacher cohorts and math-rich classroom environments) and that BEF plans to announce S4 awardees later in the week. Board members were invited to contribute to and promote the winter campaign.