“We are passionate about creating safe, inclusive environments with diverse learning pathways, so kids have multiple choices as they start to think about what they’re going to do after Paradise Valley,” shares Jean Koeppen, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “When parents choose Paradise Valley for preschool, we are providing a nice, vertically aligned opportunity for their students all the way up to senior graduation.” EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES The district has implemented several programs designed to build strong educational foundations. “Childhood development in those early years is very important,” stresses Koeppen. “The more we can do there, the better it sets up our whole system for success.” PVSchools offers an array of preschool options, including tuition-based community programs as well as federally funded initiatives, with the intention of providing every young learner a strong start to their education journey. “We dedicate some of our federal funding through Title One funding to preschool,” Koeppen details. “Not all districts do that, but we know that that’s where we can make the most growth and get them before they enter kindergarten. And we do offer full day kindergarten across all of our elementary schools.” For children who score above the 90th percentile on ability testing, the district offers specialized gifted programming, designed to challenge and nurture those identified as advanced while balancing the need for age-appropriate development. Karen Brown, Director of Gifted Education expands,“We don’t ever want a child to miss a year of childhood. So yes, while they can function at a much higher level academically, we still recognize that developmentally they need that opportunity to do all of the things that go with being a four-year-old. We are very proud of our gifted preschool programs, and parents love them.” A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION PVSchools recognizes the importance of technology in the classroom and has made significant efforts to include it throughout the curriculum.“In our CTE STEM programs at the high school level, it’s just an integrated tool,” notes Pamela Fulk, CREST and STEM Coordinator for the district.“It’s just like a pencil. It’s a tool to do the research, and the projects as they’re looking to solve the problems around them.” As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent, district leaders are working out ways to incorporate 303 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 PARADISE VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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