Staff Talk
A Newsletter for Beaverton School District Employees
November 23, 2020
Message from Superintendent Grotting
BSD Staff,
I want to take this opportunity to wish your family the happiest of Thanksgiving holidays. I hope that you’re able to take these next few days and connect with loved ones — whether in small single family gatherings, over the phone or through a computer screen. Never has it been more important to take stock of the important people in our lives.
I’d also like to take a moment to reflect on the past eight months. It’s human nature to dwell on our losses, and by all means, some of our students, staff and families have suffered tremendous losses this year. Our students have lost the ability to laugh with friends around the lunchroom table. Teachers have lost the ability to give their students an encouraging pat on the back. Some parents have lost their livelihoods. And some of us have even lost loved ones to a relentless disease that we continue to fight.
But during this Thanksgiving, I want to encourage you to focus on the lessons. As educators, we’re always looking for lessons to be learned. And like it or not, COVID-19 has been a good teacher. The pandemic has taught us about the need for flexibility. Teachers have had to rethink how they approach educating students in a virtual world. Our Nutrition Services staff has had to redesign how they feed thousands of children who depend on school breakfasts and lunches. Administrators have had to reevaluate how to bring students back to brick-and-mortar schools when health metrics and guidance seem to change on an almost daily basis. We all have needed to embrace the fact that change is our only constant.
This pandemic has taught us, especially our children, the importance of resilience. Kindergartens have learned to navigate Zoom classrooms and build relationships with teachers whom they’ve never met in person. Middle and high school students have figured out how to participate in clubs and activities online to remain connected to their fellow classmates and keep their passions alive. And parents have devised ways to juggle and extend their days to meet the needs of their children as well as their employers. No one said that it’s been easy, but every day, we find ways to move forward.
And finally, COVID-19 has reminded the world of the need for compassion and grace. We all are doing the very best that we can to cope with uncertainty. None of it is perfect. It’s so important for children to see the adults in their lives accepting those things for which we have no control while also taking charge of those things that are within our agency. We do have the power to change our attitude, our mindset and our outlook. We do have the power to put the needs of our children, especially our most marginalized, first and foremost. And we do have the power to show kindness to all.
Thank you for your continued support. I hold all of you close to my heart this holiday season.
Don Grotting
Beaverton School District Superintendent
Season of Giving
The Communications & Community Involvement Department is collecting donations for grocery gift cards. With many churches and community groups canceling or scaling back their holiday food programs this year due to COVID-19, BSD families are in need. We'd like to provide 700 families — who've been identified by our school counselors — with gift cards to be used at local grocery stores. Are you able to help?
- Click on the Donate to the BSD Community Resource Fund button
- Select Beaverton School District as the School
- Select Beaverton Schools Community Resource Fund as the Item
- Write Season of Giving in the Memo
- Type in your desired amount - any amount will be accepted
- Click on Buy
Child Care Subsidy Application Now Closed
Help Us Name the New Middle School
After years of being used as a "swing school," the new middle school in the Timberland neighborhood will be opening as a permanent school in September 2021. In accordance with Policy FF, the School Board will choose the final name based on community suggestions. Parents, students, staff and community members are invited to submit name suggestions to the School Board for its consideration. Preference will be given to names associated with the community. According to School Board Policy FF, names of living persons will not be considered.
Anyone wanting to submit a name suggestion should complete the New Middle School Name Suggestion Form by Monday, January 4.
WE Celebrate Community Partnerships
Southridge High School received a 2020 WE Award for leading an event called “Community Conversations around Race” which brought together more than 400 community members with help from the following community partners: Black Parent Union, the City of Beaverton’s Diversity Advisory Board, Jewish Federation of Oregon, REAP, THPRD, Western States Center and World Affairs Council of Oregon. The event highlighted BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) students’ voices.
Marathon Kids is up and running
Art Lit Showcases Local Artist
Superintendent Grotting's Middle School Boundary Decision
Superintendent Grotting has accepted the recommendation of the MSBA Advisory Committee on a new middle school boundary map with no amendments. He has also accepted the MSBA Advisory Committee’s recommendation to offer a legacy option to students who will be entering 8th grade in the 2021-22 school year to remain at the middle school that they attended during the 2020-21 school year.
In addition, Superintendent Grotting has approved two program changes that impact middle school students:
The Rachel Carson School of Environmental Science will be relocated from Five Oaks Middle School to Cedar Park Middle School.
The SUMMA program will be expanded to the Timberland-area middle school, in addition to the programs that already exist at Meadow Park, Stoller and Whitford Middle Schools.
The recommendation will be presented to the School Board on November 30 at 6:30 p.m. For the full report including projected enrollment numbers, please visit the Middle School Boundary Adjustment webpage.
Inclement Weather for BSD Staff
Any decision to close district facilities due to inclement weather will be made by 5:15 a.m. An email will be sent to all staff regarding the closure.
All classes and school schedules will continue on time in Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL), even if district facilities are closed due to inclement weather. In other words, we will not have any "snow days" in CDL.
If district facilities are closed, any on-site classes/programs including Limited In-Person Instruction (LIPI) will be canceled.
When all district facilities are closed:
District Maintenance and Custodial staffs will report to work unless otherwise directed.
No other employees will have access to district facilities.
All day/evening activities and events are canceled.
Community Survey on LIPI & Hybrid Model Results
The Beaverton School District received more than 14,700 responses to the Community Survey on Possible Limited In-Person Instruction (LIPI) and Hybrid Model. The unscientific survey was sent to all families in the district and was translated into eight languages. Know that parents/guardians were encouraged to fill out one survey per child. View the results.
Fall 2020 Bond Newsletter
Beaverton voters approved a $680-million Capital Bond Measure in May 2014. Bond money has been used to address repairs, provide new capacity and relieve overcrowding, modernize and renovate facilities, improve safety, and replace outdated learning technology, curriculum and equipment over an eight-year period. Take a look at the many projects that have been completed or are in progress in the Fall 2020 Bond Newsletter.
Are you following us on social media?
BEF Announces Safe and Sound 4 Student Success Awards
BEF received more than $75,000 in grant awards to support the 8th year of the middle school Safe and Sound 4 Student Success (S4), aka Soccer Club program. This year, S4 transitioned to a virtual model. The program connects students with educators and peers, and helps them navigate distance learning platforms.
This year, Westview High School launched the S4 High School project for grades 9-12, with additional support to 9th graders as they begin their high school careers.
Students who participate in S4 attend more school days, have fewer behavior issues, and do better than peers in Language Arts and Math. Participating Latino students earn a C or better in Language Arts at a rate 10% above their non-participating Latino peers. Together, the middle and high school S4 programs create a powerful infrastructure to ensure students don’t slip through the cracks during the difficult transitional years.
BSD 5th Grader Named Oregon Kid Govenor
NASA Herox Global Challenge
Congratulations to Springville 4th graders Aarnav Srisai Arun, Vanshika Lakshmi Kura, Ruthvik Ram Surapaneni and Vijval Sai Jupudi. These students participated in NASA's Lunar Loo Global Challenge which got nearly 900 submissions from across the world. Their team, Moon Scientists, was one of the winners in the Junior category (the only team from the USA!) for their project, The Lavabo Throne. Take a look at the description of their winning design:
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