Staff Talk
A Newsletter for Beaverton School District Employees
Annual notice about investment opportunities for employees
As 2018 draws to a close, please be reminded of your eligibility to participate in the District’s 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) and/or 457(b) Deferred Compensation (DCP) Plans in the upcoming year. The District’s third-party TSA administrator, Carruth Compliance Consulting (CCC), provides the attached announcements, which summarize general plan information and relevant 2019 updates, including examples of the additional information available at www.ncompliance.com.
Please note the following:
- Basic Elective Deferral Limits for 2019 Have Increased
- Under age 50 by 12/31/2019 = $19,000
- Age 50 by 12/31/2019 = $25,000
- BSD’s Retirement Investment Brochure and Salary Reduction Agreement Forms are available on the District’s Payroll intranet page.
- An Employee Financial Services Fair will be offered in early Spring. Announcement coming soon!
We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to consider and invest in your future financial health!
Please click "Download" to download the announcements:
Open Enrollment for 2019-2020
The Beaverton School District will offer open enrollment for students living within the BSD service area for the 2019-20 school year at the schools listed below. Applications for open enrollment are available in ENGLISH and SPANISH at each school and at the Administration Center, 16550 SW Merlo Rd., and will be accepted from Monday, December 10, 2018 through Tuesday, January 22, 2019 prior to 2:00 p.m. Students may only apply to two schools. Completed applications should be returned to the school for which the student is applying. Applications to more than two (2) buildings will be denied.
Smarter Balanced State Test Update
Last spring, students in grades 3 – 8 and 11 in the Beaverton School District and throughout Oregon took the state tests (Smarter Balanced) in English Language Arts and Mathematics.
In addition to content standards, these assessments are designed to measure critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. The test results provide you, our schools, our district and the state with information about how well we are preparing our students for their next steps including college and career readiness.
Our students will take these tests once between January and June 2019.
House Bill 2655 permits parents and adult students to annually opt-out of Oregon’s statewide summative tests in English Language Arts and Math by submitting a form to the school the student attends. The school shall provide any student who is exempted from a state test with supervised study time while other students are testing.
Here is a link to additional information: https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/assessment/Documents/Opt-Out_Form_2018-19.pdf
Balancing the Holidays in Schools/Classrooms
Providing an inclusive learning environment is critical to empowering all students for post-high school success. Beaverton is a diverse District where students bring multiple life experiences into our classrooms. With such diversity, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to balance the holidays to create an inclusive environment, especially in the coming months where certain religious holidays are traditionally highlighted.
It is the policy of the BSD that the District should encourage all students and staff to appreciate and respect each other’s views. It is important that all educators embrace the diversity of cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs in our schools and society. Special care must be taken to ensure that students do not experience exclusionary feelings and can participate comfortably in school programs, displays, performances, classroom activities and/or celebrations. Classroom parties and celebrations held at a holiday time must be secular in nature and their overall effect should not promote or favor any religious practice, belief or non-belief.
Please review Policy IGACA: Recognition of Religious Beliefs and Customs, AR, including Q&A, on IGACA: Recognition of Religious Beliefs and Customs, and "Things to Think About: Balancing Holidays in Your Classroom/Building."
Additionally, please be mindful of those students and families who may experience anxiety over having an extended break from schools as we move closer to winter break.
Schools provide a safe and warm place and secure meals for many of our students. Please refer to this Social Service Resources.
Sprint 1Million Program
In 2017, the Beaverton School District was awarded 2,000 hotspots from the Sprint 1Million Project Foundation. The devices provide free wireless service for up to 4 years to eligible high school students in grades 9-12 who do not have adequate internet access at home.
Even in this digital era, not all students have access to consistent, quality internet connections at home. With 70% of teachers now assigning internet-based homework, disadvantaged student must seek out ways to get connected to complete schoolwork. They go to coffee shops, libraries, restaurants and other businesses to use Wi-Fi. Without home internet, students are cut off from success.
To help solve this problem, a team from the Beaverton School District researched opportunities and wrote a grant for the Sprint 1Million Project. Each year, over a five-year period, 400 eligible students will receive a free Wi-Fi hotspot device and up to 3GB per month of free internet connectivity during the time they remain in high school – even through summer break. This new program will help eliminate the "Homework Gap" and provide access to digital content such as college and job applications, financial aid, social services, health care and much more.
McKinney-Vento Act: Homeless Education Program Update
The McKinney-Vento Act’s Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program, ensures that homeless children and youth are provided a free, appropriate public education, despite lack of a fixed place of residence or a supervising parent or guardian.
Every school district in Oregon has at least one designated Homeless Student Liaison to provide direct assistance to homeless families and unaccompanied youths to access and achieve in school. Homeless children and youth “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” A homeless family could live in an emergency shelter or transitional housing unit, share housing with others due to loss of housing or economic hardship, reside in motels, or live in tents or trailers for lack of alternative, adequate housing. Unaccompanied minors who have been abandoned by their parents or who have run away from home – whatever the reason - are also eligible for educational rights and services as homeless students.
In the Beaverton School District, there are 1,238 students who qualify for the McKinney-Vento Act, 201 more than the same time last year.
For more information on the McKinney-Vento Act including homeless student data, please visit the McKinney-Vento Act webpage.
Winter Break 2018-2019
Schools will be closed Monday, December 24 - Friday, January 4, 2019 for Winter Break.
School will resume on Monday, January 7, 2019.
Apply today to fund tomorrow's projects
The Beaverton Education Foundation can help make your fabulous classroom project go viral through Beaverton’s Choice!
District staff, at all locations, are encouraged to apply to Beaverton’s Choice to fund projects up to $2,500, request in-kind materials, or specialized volunteers to support student-engaged projects that enrich learning and encourage classroom innovation in any content area.
This year, we are excited to announce that the impact of community donations can go twice as far with the support of our new and returning BEF Community Partners! Thank you to Intel, First Tech Federal Credit Union and New Season’s Market for their support of Beaverton’s Choice and our classrooms.
You may submit an application anytime throughout the year.
Apply Now:
GO TO: www.beavertonEDfoundation.org
CLICK: Apply
CLICK: Learn more and apply under Beaverton’s Choice Grants
Creating a classroom project or campaign using Beaverton’s Choice is a simple online process. You will need to enter 5 pieces of information, click submit, and BEF will do the rest to get your project online and the fundraising started!
Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis and will be posted to Beaverton’s Choice for funding by the public. You will be notified via email when to begin promoting and sharing your project. The BEF Beaverton’s Choice Committee reviews your project and considers your active sharing in their final funding decision.
Want to learn more about how BEF helps Beaverton students and teachers? Watch the 2018-19 video!
THPRD Winter Registration begins December 8
Ready…Set…Register! Registration for Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District’s winter programs, classes and activities begins Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. for in-district residents.
Park district residents have two ways to register: online www.thprd.org/portal or by phone at 503-439-9400. Online registration runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and requires an online account. Don’t have one? You can set up your online account at www.thprd.org/activities before Dec. 8.
Phone registration runs from 8:00 - 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8 and 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018.
All registrants need a current THPRD residency card and class information when enrolling. Find out if you’re in district at thprd.org/activities/am-i-in-district.
Registration for out-of-district residents begins Monday, Dec. 10 at 8:00 a.m.
Find class descriptions, schedules, registration instructions and forms in THPRD’s 2019 Winter/Spring Activities Guide. The Activities Guide is available online at www.thprd.org/activities/activities–guide. Print copies can be picked up at any THPRD facility, Beaverton-area libraries and other community locations.
This year, THPRD is proudly offering Centro de Bienvenida, a walk-in welcome center for Spanish-speaking patrons on Dec. 8 at 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Centro de Bienvenida will be held at the HMT Complex in the Dryland Room at 15707 SW Walker Rd. Beaverton, OR 97006.
Adidas, Columbia, and Nike Employee Store Invitations
District Events
School Board Business Meeting
Monday, December 17, 2018
6:30 p.m.
Administration Office
16550 SW Merlo Rd.
Meeting Materials
Winter Break
Monday, December 24, 2018 - Friday, January 4, 2019
Messages of thanks to BSD staff who assisted with the Stoller MS Lockdown - Thank you!
McKinley ES Word Detectives
Principal Aki Mori and School Resource Officer Kelly Godinet were on hand to recognize students at an official "Word Detective Badge Ceremony." These kids are on their way to becoming super readers!
Sato family honored with a special tree
The ceremony featured a Color Guard and presentation of the flag to the family. Students sang a song about a chestnut tree in Japanese and participatied in a pebble ceremony where each student placed a pebble around the base of the tree honoring the Shin.
Sunset High School Cross Country hosts Miles That Matter
In 5 years of Miles that Matter, a fundraiser and running event that benefits both Sunset Cross Country and Shriners Hospital for Children, the team has donated nearly $50,000 to Shriners - Portland.
Presenting the check to Ms Park are Natalie Taylor, Danielle Mendoza, and Sophia Anderson (L-R). They are the three highest fundraisers this year, raising more than $2,100 between the three of them. Seventeen athletes raised more than $300 each, and another 51 raised the goal of $100.
Congratulations, Sunset Cross Country!
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: melissa_larson@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: www.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