2025-2026 Kids Count Grants Announced

2025-2026 Kids Count Grants Announced

Wednesday, April 16th, 2025

BEF’s board of directors recently approved eight Kids Count grants that will serve an additional 1,600 students this summer and next school year. These awards total $89,000 and are made possible by our generous donor community.  

Reading will once again “be in the bag” for students at four elementary schools to enhance literacy skills and keep students engaged with reading during summer. 

• Springville Elementary School returns the Summer Boost program to prevent summer learning loss for 100 rising 1st-5th grade students. Springville will continue offering what has become an annual take-home book program. New this year, however, Springville will test how well a target literacy intervention program works over the summer when select students come back to school for intensive small group reading instruction. We are looking forward to seeing the results of this pilot! 

• Fir Grove Elementary School will offer a version of Summer Boost called the Explorer’s Club that also combats the very real issue of summer learning loss and lack of books in homes among 100 students. Each Explorer will go home with a book bag filled with high-interest, self-selected books to spark their love of reading plus dice, playing cards, and instructions to play simple math games. Along with some summer meetups, we expect these Explorers to have fun learning this summer. Last year, Fir Grove tested how playing math games improved math “automaticity” and got great results among their students.   

• Chehalem Elementary School is piloting a new at-home reading initiative that will kick off before the end of the school year with BEF’s help. Following the Summer Boost model, 100 students will go home with a bag of books. When they return in the fall, Chehalem will begin hosting Reading Strategy Nights. Monthly, students and families will come to school for a shared meal and to learn specific reading skills and strategies so parents can have more skills with which to support emerging readers at home.  
• Montclair Elementary School launches its first Summer Boost program to provide readers identified as below-grade level with books to prevent the summer slide. With a kickoff event in June, a July mid-summer check-in, and an ending celebration in August, Montclair students will remain connected and reading throughout the summer. We are looking forward to supporting Montclair in this effort! 

Another favorite is back again this summer:

Middle School Band Camp! This camp brings 200 young musicians from across the district together for two weeks of music. Students participate in “sectionals” to learn their instruments and learn to play together with a performance on the final day. BEF helps ensure that the camp is free to any student who cannot afford the registration fee.

Many schools are looking ahead to next year, and BEF is here to support their plans. 

• Aloha Huber Park (K-8) will launch the Cougars Club to provide additional instruction in reading after school, focusing on increasing reading skills. The carrot to get students to attend will be connecting them to their interests. After completing the academic portion, students will have time after school to do what they love whether that’s Rubik’s cubes, Legos or learning to knit. Aloha Huber Park expects to engage 300 students a quarter in this program, boosting skills for a great many of their students. 
• Raleigh Hills Elementary School will again offer an Afterschool English Language Development (ELD) program next year. This program aims to decrease opportunity gaps for about 25 students with small group instruction after school to support English language acquisition. as well as increase math and reading skills. 
• Fir Grove Elementary School returns in 2025-26 with the popular Early Riser’s Chess Club. These students are showing incredible fortitude to show up at 7 am once a week to learn and improve their chess game thanks to dedicated Beaverton educators. BEF support will help keep this tradition in place and grow in the next school year. 

School	Project	BEF Award
Aloha-Huber Park	Cougar Clubs After School	$10,000
Springville Elementary	Summer Boost 4.0	$15,000
Montclair Elementary      Fir Grove Elementary	Summer Boost Summer Explorers Club	$7,500 $12,600
Middle Schools	Middle School Summer Band Camp	$12,500
Fir Grove Elementary	Fir Grove Early Risers Chess Club	$2,400
Chehalem Elementary	At Home Reading Program	$11,560
Raleigh Hills Elementary	After school Academic Support for English Language Learners	$17,500
		$89,060