The Beaverton School District won a $1 million state grant for summer literacy programs this year, a sharp reversal from 2025, when BSD was the only Oregon district serving more than 10,000 students that received no state summer learning money at all.

The award is part of $35 million the Legislature allocated statewide for summer 2026 under a program made permanent in 2025.

The district has not publicly identified which schools are running state-funded literacy interventions, how many young readers are enrolled, or what instructional model is being used.

New Superintendent Tony Smith started July 1 and has not addressed summer literacy outcomes publicly.

What BSD is running separately

Two sets of summer programs are confirmed, though neither is identified as grant-funded.

At Mountainside and Westview high schools, BSD ran credit recovery and an invite-only "8.5" program for incoming freshmen from June 22 to July 16.

The 8.5 sessions used Lexia, a phonics-based reading tool, and ALEKS for math, meeting Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The summer school was free and prioritized juniors, seniors and students with the greatest academic need.

Separately, the Beaverton Education Foundation funded a Summer Boost program reaching about 400 elementary students at four schools.

Springville ran a four-week academic intervention with at-home reading materials. Fir Grove provided literacy and numeracy activity kits. Montclair and Terra Linda distributed reading materials aimed at preventing summer learning loss.

Statewide push on reading

Oregon ranks among the lowest states nationally in fourth-grade reading, and the state's summer programs served nearly 30,000 students in 2025, according to an Oregon Department of Education analysis.

Gov. Tina Kotek said at a July 14 press conference in Portland that her 2027-29 budget would prioritize summer learning. "Oregon can figure this out," Kotek said. "We need to prioritize what we need to fund, and my budget will be prioritizing education and particularly summer investments again because we know it works."

Under the current grant structure, BSD is pre-approved for summer learning funding in 2027 and 2028.

What families need to know

BSD's main summer sessions ended July 16. Free lunches for children ages 1 to 18 continue through Thursday, August 6 at Beaverton City Park, Cedar Hills Recreation Center, Southridge High School and William Walker Elementary. No registration is required.