Hillsboro School District Weekly Hot News, September 26, 2022 - Career and College readiness, ES29 update, Oregon Teacher of the Year finalist

The latest expansion of our Career and College Pathways work is ensuring that elementary students are exposed to and gain awareness of the opportunities that await them as they progress through their PK-12 experience. Over the next three years, this will be accomplished by providing every elementary school with age-appropriate career kits for each grade level. Included in the kits are activities related to the career, culturally-relevant texts with diverse characters, and career-related realia. The Hillsboro Schools Foundation is partnering with HSD to make these kits a reality, and are calling their fundraising effort ¡Imagina Tu Aventura! Or Imagine Your Adventure!. In late August, Foundation staff and volunteers gathered at Atfalati Ridge Elementary School to put together the first round of kits for grades K, 1, and 3, and help deliver them to schools. Our featured staff member is Laury Rodriguez from Liberty High School. She has been named one of sixteen regional finalists for the 2022-23 Oregon Teacher of the Year Award! A Liberty High School student herself, Laury returned to the school as a family outreach liaison and bilingual assistant in 2015 after graduating from Portland State. Since earning her Master’s degree in 2019, she has served Liberty students by teaching Math, Science, Dual Language, and AVID. She also advises the MEChA Club and has taught summer school, working to develop and align a program that is responsive to student needs. Laury was recognized during an all-school assembly at Liberty on Friday, September 16th. Representatives from the Oregon Lottery - one of the sponsors of the Oregon Teacher of the Year Program - were on hand to present her with a $1,000 check and a banner announcing her regional finalist status. The 2022-23 Oregon Teacher of the Year winner will be announced in early October and we can’t wait to hear the results. Way to go, Laury! You make us Proud to be HSD! Our bond update is on the construction progress at Elementary School 29 in South Hillsboro. Beginning last week, steel posts are now being erected on the foundation, starting the building of the school structure itself. Keep track via cameras on site that provide near real-time views of the work on the site; updated every 15 minutes, you can go back in time or view the time-lapse. Project photos and other archives are also posted to hillsboro-bond.org. Hot News is produced and emailed to HSD families and staff each week school is in session. Please add the address to your “safe sender” list to make sure you always receive the latest issue. Please also bookmark our district website: hsd.k12.or.us and the 2022-23 School Year page: hsd.k12.or.us/202223schoolyear to stay informed about what’s happening in our district and schools.