BSD Briefs
October 28, 2019
District Goal: WE empower all students to achieve post-high school success.
Final Opportunity to Participate in Phase I of BSD's Speak Up 4 Student Success
Phase I of our community engagement process is coming to a close. Thursday, October 31, 2019 is the last day to submit comments on what is going well in the Beaverton School District and what improvements are needed.
Your voice matters! We welcome your perspective and opinion. Take our BSD Needs Assessment Survey!
School and District At-A-Glance Reports
School and District report cards for the 2018-19 school year are available at https://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx. (Select Beaverton in the school or district search bar). We welcome the opportunity to share this information with you on the progress we are making to improve academic achievement for each student in the Beaverton School District. We are making progress.
In 1999, the Oregon Legislature enacted ORS 329.105 requiring that the Oregon Department of Education produce and issue annual report cards for all schools and districts. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, encourages schools and educators to innovate and create systems that address local needs. As a part of this work, the Oregon Department of Education redesigned the School and District report cards to engage and inform families about their school’s approach to learning, academic and extracurricular offerings, and student performance.
The School At-A-Glance Profiles include graphics showing how a school or district compares to the statewide average in categories like chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, average class size and more. The profiles were developed with extensive input from Oregon families, including families of historically underserved students.
The data points represent a more comprehensive approach to evaluating and measuring a school’s impact on students. In five minutes or less parents can get the comprehensive look at their school or district that they’ve been requesting. All of these changes are part of Oregon’s Plan which is the state of Oregon’s plan for meeting federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
District Community Partnership Meeting
More than 200 community partners and school leaders met at Beaverton Foursquare Church on Thursday, October 24, 2019 for the first District-level Community Partnership Team meeting of the 2019-2020 school year. Superintendent Grotting and School Board Chair, Becky Tymchuk, opened the meeting.
Three outstanding community partnerships in the Beaverton School District were spotlighted; the AMIRacle Foundation, Beaverton School District Nutrition Services and Ecotrust Farm to School partnership and exploring construction careers at the middle school level partnership with the Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF).
Following the presentations, teams had the opportunity to meet and develop their visions and needs and discuss how community partners could empower all students to achieve post-high school success
New community partnership opens a world of reading!
The Beaverton School District and our Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) partners are expanding access to library materials and resources via the public library Youth Access Card (YAC) for BSD students who do not already have a public library card. This special library card allows students to check out up to five print books or audiobooks from any WCCLS library without any overdue fines. It also provides access to ebooks, digital audiobooks, and other online library resources that can be obtained directly from their BSD Chromebooks or other device.
Using the Sora app, students can link their WCCLS library cards to the BSD digital library so they can browse and borrow BSD and public library ebook/audiobook collections in one place. Rolling distribution of the YAC cards to BSD schools will begin starting in November and continue through January. For more details about these cards, please see the the BSD webpage about the partnership.
Attention Juniors & Seniors - ACE Mentor Program Afterschool Opportunity
Are you interested in Architecture, Construction or Engineering (ACE)? Join the ACE Mentor Program. You can design a building, learn valuable work skills, and explore careers in architecture, construction and engineering.
ACE is a FREE after-school program for high school juniors and seniors interested in Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE). Student teams collaborate on a building design project under the guidance of industry professionals. ACE also offers college scholarships for seniors and summer camp opportunities for juniors.
ACE STUDENTS gain valuable career skills, network with professionals, and explore ACE careers.
ACE MENTORS give back to their community, inspire the next generation, and attract new talent to the industry.
The program runs January – May 2020 and applications are due Friday, November 22, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. Students are placed on a Tuesday or Thursday team with 10-15 students from different high schools and 7-10 mentors from a mix of architecture, construction, and engineering firms. Teams meet 13 times (once a week or once every two weeks) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Light meals are served at each meeting and supplies are provided. Prior experience and outside homework are not required. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from meetings.
Meetings are held in downtown Portland at ACE mentors’ offices and job sites. Students have the opportunity to visit multiple professional workplaces, learn how to network, and explore career paths within the ACE industry. Teams design a building together, and students present their projects to a large audience at the program finale in May.
ACE will hold an optional Student/Family Information Session on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Merlo Station High School, 1841 SW Merlo Dr., Beaverton.
For more information, visit the ACE Mentor Program website at acementor.org/Portland-or, or talk to your school’s college and career coordinator/counselor.
School Safety Reminders
You’ve heard the terms “lockout” and “lockdown.” While the two terms sound somewhat similar, they mean very different things. It can help ease your anxiety as a parent to know the difference.
A lockout means there is a possible threat outside the school. Most often, this is due to police activity in the area or the neighborhood. Police might be searching for a suspect in a crime, or someone might have spotted a person wanted for questioning. During a lockout, it is business as usual inside the building. If students are at recess, or outside for some reason, they are brought inside, the doors are locked and classes continue. The District does not typically send out parent notifications for lockouts, since they are most often due to police activity in the neighborhood and are usually resolved quickly.
A lockdown means there is a possible threat inside the school. This is not business as usual. Hallways are cleared, classroom and office doors are locked, lights are turned out. Students and staff are instructed to stay quiet and out of sight.
All of our schools can be put in lockout or lockdown at the touch of a button. A message with instructions will play over the school’s intercom system. We’ve produced several videos to help educate students, parents and staff:
If you get a notification about a lockout or a lockdown, the first place to check for reliable information and updates are the school and District webpages. There will be a page pop with information that “pops” onto the center of the screen. Also monitor the District’s social media feeds: Facebook • Twitter.
Do not call or go to the school. Doing so could put you or others in danger. We will communicate with you as soon as we have more information to share.
A lockdown may lead to a controlled release or parent reunification. Please watch our Parent Reunification video to familiarize yourself with this process.
We thank you for your help, as we work to provide safe learning environments for all students in the Beaverton School District.
College & Career Ready in the BSD
Newsletter Opportunity for Parents/Guardians with Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Parents – does your child have a hearing loss?
Are you interested in receiving information regarding parent support and informational groups, summer camps for children with hearing loss, free American Sign Language classes, new hearing aid or cochlear implant technology, and other related topics?
Sign up on the NWRESD Deaf/HH Newsletter Sign-Up Form for a quarterly newsletter from the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program at the agency that provides services to children from birth to age 21 in our region – Northwest Regional Education Service District.
School Board Business Meeting
Monday, October 28, 2019
Administration Office
16550 SW Merlo Rd.
Beaverton, 97003
Meeting Materials
Grading Day - No School
Friday, November 1, 2019
Middle School Boundary Advisory Committee Meeting
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Stoller Middle School
14141 NW Laidlaw Road
Portland, OR 97229
Schools Closed - Veterans Day
Monday, November 11, 2019
Inclement Weather Information
When the weather gets snowy or icy, school schedules may be affected. The District generally posts the announcement of delayed school opening or school closure by 5:30 a.m. All Portland Metro area media outlets announce the information on TV newscasts and online.
The District will notify parents and staff via SchoolMessenger with a Non-School Hours Emergency message. Please manage your communication preferences in SchoolMessenger InfoCenter.
For the latest inclement weather information:
Log on to the District website and a page pop will be posted in the middle of the main page with the status of District operations.
Opt-in for SMS Alerts from SchoolMessenger
Subscribe to Flash Alert for email or text message updates
Like the Beaverton School District on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
The Beaverton School District Inclement Weather Policy and transportation snow routes can be found on the Public Safety webpage.
After-School Activities
Did you know the Communications & Community Involvement Department provides links to many flyers for after-school activities as a service to parents, students, and community members of the Beaverton School District during the school year. Most schools also have information on Community tables as well.
The word flyer includes but is not limited to: poster, pamphlet, brochure or catalog. We review materials requests from community-based, nonprofit and for-profit organizations on a monthly basis. Flyers for October are available now. New flyers will be posted each month. In November, links to new flyers will be posted after Tuesday, November 5, 2019.
Beaverton School District
The District prohibits discrimination and harassment based on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veteran status, or because of a perceived or actual association with any other persons within these protected classes.
Email: community_involvement@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 16550 SW Merlo Rd, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: (503)356-4360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @beavertonsd