BEA’s Narrative for Public Education

We are committed to the success of all students.
We are committed professionals united by the vision of building a bright future for our students, who come to us with a wide range of talents, interests, and abilities. We strive to prepare our students to be productive and thoughtful citizens in a changing world. We have high expectations for our students and ourselves and we take great pride in our work. We want every public school in Beaverton to be outstanding, because we know that strong public schools create strong communities. Our ultimate goal as a union of educators is the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual nourishment of our students. Everything we do is centered around creating the optimal educational experience for each and every child that walks into a Beaverton public school.

We believe in creating welcoming and inclusive learning environments.
We believe in creating safe, welcoming, compassionate and diverse classroom communities in which students feel empowered to be themselves. In our schools, educators build trusting relationships, encourage multiple perspectives, foster social and emotional wellness, and emphasize that each individual brings value to their community. We promote and practice equity in education and we fight for justice in our school communities. We are continually honing our culturally responsive teaching practices so that we can provide the highest quality educational opportunities to all students, while celebrating their backgrounds and identities.

We advocate for excellence in teaching and optimal learning conditions.
We provide high quality instruction and rich learning experiences for students, which requires time for planning, adequate resources and materials, collaboration with colleagues, and responsive professional development. As the professionals who work with students on a daily basis, we believe educators should be involved in making decisions about their work. We advocate for appropriate class sizes and caseloads, ensuring students receive individual attention and feedback to help them develop. We believe that public schools deserve stable funding sources that make a long-term investment in our future.

We embrace a broad definition of student achievement.
We want our students to grow into critical thinkers and life-long learners, and we know that their success is based on more than standardized test scores. Students need access to rich experiences in the arts, world languages, science, history, civics, personal finance, health, physical education, career and technical education. Setting up students for post-high school success means giving them a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to find and pursue their passions. We are committed to helping students thrive by providing opportunities that develop their curiosity, creativity, and intellectual endurance.

We partner with the community to invest in our students and build a better future.
We believe our schools are strengthened by the professionalism of our educators and the support from our entire community. However, educators cannot accomplish this work alone. Communication, trust, and respect between families, students, educators, and community allies must be valued and nurtured. All stakeholders need to work together to create the schools our students deserve.