At Desert Mountain School, our gifted program utilizes the SPARK model. Our gifted specialist sees our identified gifted students every day during their daily RTI time. Students will work on thinking strategies, divergent thinking, levels of creativity, and so on. Students will read a variety of literature, work on Problem Based Learning projects, and complete activities to encourage independence and self-advocacy.
SAGE is the Deer Valley Unified School Districts program of Gifted and Talented students in grades 3-8. Students receive instruction in the area of math and reading daily. Below is a brief description of the Districts 3-6 program. In grades 7 & 8 students can receive instruction in Advanced Placement classes in all content areas.
3-6 Math
Enriched within the grade level problem-based learning units
Accelerated at least 1 grade level higher
3-6 Language Arts
Differentiated through literature studies and units of study from the College of William and Mary, Jacob's Ladder, ThinkLaw, and Junior Great Books . Processes include critical and creative thinking skills, discovery learning, open-ended problem solving, choice of learning activities, small group interaction, greater variety, evidence of reasoning daily
How does a students qualify for the program?
Students qualify by scoring in the 97 percentile or Standard Age Score of 132 on the Cognitive Abilities Test or another test accepted by the Arizona Department of Education for gifted identification. Deer Valley will accept students scoring 94th percentile in verbal or quantitative provisionally for one subject area. Deer Valley Schools provide testing using the Cognitive Abilities Test three times during the year. Students may be referred by teachers, parents, or themselves for testing. More information can be obtained from classroom teachers.
How can I prepare my child for the test?
You can't. Because this is a test of reasoning skills, there is no way to prepare. Just make sure they are rested and relaxed.
If my child is in SAGE do they retest each year?
No. Once a student qualifies with the above criteria, they do not retest.
Testing DVUSD Students
DVUSD offers testing for gifted identification three times per year at all K-6 and K-8 schools. We honor parent requests for gifted testing but recommend that parents first read the Characteristics of Gifted Students. Should you decide to have your child tested, contact the SAGE teacher or Gifted Coach at your school. For more information about the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the testing process, visit DVUSD's Gifted Services page.
Testing Students Not Enrolled in a DVUSD School
DVUSD provides testing for a fee for students enrolled in a charter or private school or neighboring district schools. We will schedule out of district students for testing at the DVUSD District Office. Please call 623-445-5000.
Outside Testing
DVUSD accepts any gifted identification assessment that is approved by the state board of education and administered by a trained and qualified administrator. Submit your report to Mrs. Ellis and it will be submitted to the district for verification.
Students New to DVUSD
When you enroll your student in a DVUSD school, it is important that you notify the office staff and of your child’s gifted status. Services can continue without delay if you provide documentation of gifted test scores. With a verified gifted identification report, your child will be placed in a gifted cluster classroom upon enrollment.
If you are new to the state and your child was tested using an identification tool that is not acknowledged in Arizona, you will need to refer your child to take the Cognitive Abilities Test. Please bring any documentation that you have, and communicate with the school's registrar and SAGE teacher or Gifted Coach regarding your child’s status and history with gifted identification.
What If Your Child Does Not Qualify for Gifted Services?
Test administration guidelines require that 12 months pass before the same test is administered again. It is generally recommended to wait two years before retesting. If the student scores are in the high 80’s to mid 90’s, parents and teachers may consider retesting in the future. Retesting a child more than twice usually does not provide drastically different results. Keep in mind that high grades and/or high scores on standardized achievement tests are not necessarily indicators that a student is gifted. You may find the following article informative: The High Achiever, The Gifted Learner, The Creative Thinker.
SAGE (Students Advancement through Gifted Education)
Scope and Sequence for Reading Grades 3-6
The DVUSD SAGE Reading Curriculum meets and exceeds the Arizona State Standards as well as the Common Core Standards. Besides using the JGB Program (Junior Great Books), award winning novel studies, and Socratic Seminars. SAGE Reading students use comprehensive language arts materials provided by the College of William & Mary along with acceleration into the district adopted ELA curriculum (Reading Street for 4th grade and Collections for 5th and 6th grades) along side our newly adopted curriculum, Jacobs Ladder, also published by the College of William & Mary. Literature studies are also designed and implemented, which provide for expectations of increased depth and complexity that commensurate with the academic abilities and potential of gifted and talented students.
Scope and Sequence for Math: Grades 3-6
SAGE math students participate in either enrichment and problem solving activities in homeroom classes or are taught at an accelerated rate, at least one year ahead of the basic curriculum through the Walk Up to Math program.
The SAGE math curriculum emphasizes problem solving and application of mathematics in real world situations as well as the examination of standard topics in greater depth. Students are expected to read, write, listen, speak and think mathematically with an appropriate degree of precision. They will develop multiple strategies to solve problems, reason, explain their thinking processes as well as defend their solutions by using precise academic vocabulary. This curriculum is intended to develop a greater understanding of mathematical concepts in an interesting way, by integrating technology, math investigations, novelty, student choice and interest, manipulatives and games. K-5th grade use Eureka Math as their core curriculum while 6th-8th grade use Illustrative Mathematics through Open Up Resources as their core curriculum.
We will continue working on problem solving skills by using the ACE strategy (answer, compute, explain), Math Investigations, and Math Olympiads.
Mastery Learning
Students will be taking quizzes throughout units to assess knowledge as well as to give me the opportunity to pace lessons, reteach concepts, compact and accelerate the curriculum or refine teaching strategies. Students will be allowed to retake quizzes and final unit tests to ensure concept mastery after they've conferenced with me and have a goal and a plan in place to improve.
Communication
I believe that parents, students, teachers, and administrators are a team that has a common goal: your child’s educational success. Please contact me first(just as I would contact you) if you have a question, an issue, or need clarification and I will do my best to accommodate you in a timely manner. If we are unable to resolve the matter at hand, we will follow procedure and take it to administration, specialist or counselor.
E-mail-please check daily.
Behavior
I believe in building a safe learning environment for my students. I will be fair and use positive reinforcement to encourage learning, maximize on task behavior and student engagement, recognize effort and allow risk-taking – failure and mistakes often lead to incredible growth. I see myself as a lifelong learner, a facilitator of learning experiences, and a guide, and by the end of the year I will hopefully inspire my students to become lifelong seekers of knowledge and discovery themselves. Our class will be a collaborative learning community, where high expectations are seen as challenges and where respect and discipline are required in order to allow learning to take place.
Please come to class prepared with a positive attitude and willingness to work.
Website
Please check the website daily if possible before emailing me. Also, please give me until the end of the school day to list assignments, reminders and classroom happenings. I will post classroom happenings, upcoming events, as well as celebrations of learning on the website weekly.
I am looking forward to an amazing year with your students,
