Gifted Services
Welcome to Desert Sage Gifted Services
Desert Sage Gifted provides enriched academic opportunities for gifted and talented students who demonstrate exceptional capabilities that require services beyond the scope of the regular classroom curriculum. We recognize that giftedness exists across all cultures and socioeconomic levels and must be cultivated in order to grow.
Gifted Service Goal: The goal of Desert Sage Gifted Services is to support gifted and talented students in developing their abilities in order to reach their full potential through challenging curriculum and authentic learning activities.
Meet the Team
Team Intro
Welcome to the gifted program at Desert Sage Elementary School, where Ms. Coleman and Mrs. Fry are dedicated to fostering our exceptional students' unique talents and abilities. With a shared passion for nurturing creativity and critical thinking, they create an engaging and stimulating environment that challenges students to reach their full potential.
Ms. Coleman brings a wealth of experience in differentiated instruction, ensuring that each student’s learning needs are met. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fry employs innovative techniques to inspire students to explore their interests and pursue their academic passions. Together, they work collaboratively to empower students, instilling a love for learning and encouraging them to think outside the box. Their commitment to excellence and personalized approach make their classroom a vibrant and dynamic space for gifted learners to thrive.
Ms. Coleman
Ms. Erin Coleman
Gifted Specialist & SAGE Teacher
Since 2011, Erin has been the Gifted Specialist at Desert Sage Elementary School in the Deer Valley Unified School District. Her mission is to employ her experience and success with gifted students to inspire them with her positive attitude and out-of-the-box strategies and methods.
Erin Coleman graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis on gifted education.
Her first teaching job included the original implementation of the REACH program for highly gifted students in the Madison School District from 1999-2003. After that, Erin was a Communications Specialist at Wells Fargo Bank, the director of two national tutoring companies, and the Program Manager for a technology firm.
Erin enjoys spending time with her sons, and dogs, yoga, hiking, coffee, reading, listening to podcasts, and living in the present moment.
 Classroom Phone |
 |
| (623) 445-4564 |
Mrs. Fry
Mrs. Molly Fry
Itinerant Gifted Specialist K-3 (Wed only)
Hello, I am Mrs. Fry the gifted itinerant teacher. I am excited to split my time between Las Brisas Elementary on Tuesdays and Desert Sage Elementary on Wednesdays. I look forward to collaborating with all the students and working together to explore and develop their talents.
I have been dedicated to education for over a decade. I initially taught primary grades in the Deer Valley Unified School District before transitioning to the gifted department. During my time in the district, I spent 10 years teaching kindergarten and one-year teaching second grade. I am in my second year working in the gifted department and my 13th year with the DVUSD, where I continue to be passionate about providing enriching educational experiences for my students.
Here are some ways I work with the K-3 students at your school. I rotate through all classrooms to teach a whole group lesson in each class from kindergarten through third grade. I also pull small groups to work on enrichment lessons for short blocks. This approach allows me to provide targeted instruction and support to students at their skill levels, ensuring that each child receives the attention and guidance they need to succeed.
Some of the curriculum and material I use with whole and small group students include the following.
- The P.E.T.S program. Primary Education Thinking Skills or PETS is a systematized enrichment and diagnostic thinking skills program. Lessons are presented in convergent analysis, divergent synthesis, visual/spatial thinking, and evaluation, suitable for grades K-3.
- Thinklaw PowerPoints. ThinkLaw increases educational equity by giving all students access to critical thinking. Thinklaw does this through their award-winning curriculum that uses real-life legal cases in the upper grades and fairy tales and nursery rhymes in lower grades K-3 as a hook to unleash the critical thinking potential of all students and powerful professional development that helps me as the teacher apply rigorous inquiry strategies that help them transform from asking “what” and “how to” to “why” and “what if.
- Junior Great Books literature programs. Junior Great Books programs combine high-quality literature, student-centered discussion, and activities that support reading comprehension, critical thinking, speaking and listening, and writing for each grade level.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Classroom Phone |
|
| (623) 445-4564 |
Testing
Placement:
Students who score at the 97th percentile on the Cognitive Abilities Test (or another approved test) will be placed in the appropriate program. The test has three areas (verbal, quantitative, and spatial thinking). Students scoring at the 94th percentile in verbal or quantitative will be placed on a provisional basis.
Testing:
Students currently enrolled in a Deer Valley school have the opportunity to be tested for gifted identification at their home school various times a year. Information can be found on the Deer Valley Gifted Services website at the link below. If a teacher recommends your child for testing, they will email you so you can register and give permission. No child will be tested without parents' permission.
This year, we will do Universal testing for 1st grade in November and 2nd grade in January/February. Parents who wish to decline testing can do so on the DVUSD Gifted Services site.
Testing takes place at various times during the year. All testing schedules and information can be found on the website for Deer Valley Gifted Service. Requests for testing are made through Deer Valley Gifted Services. The link for testing requests can also be found here along with testing windows. Requests for testing must be made through DVUSD gifted services during the registration window.
