Professional Learning for Gifted Clusters

The Dysart Unified School District serves nearly 26,000 students in the communities of Surprise and El Mirage, Arizona. We are a community dedicated to serving the needs of all children with high quality educational services, before-and after-school programs, community education classes, and services for the entire community. Dysart is the fastest growing school system in Arizona. Since 2000, the district has more than tripled in size. Despite the unprecedented growth, we are focused on preparing our students to thrive in the new century and ensuring students are equipped with the skills necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities in a 21st century global society are at the heart of the mission and vision. The goal is to graduate all students ready for college, career and a productive life in this new century. Through strategic planning processes, the District works collaboratively with its stakeholders to define its strategy, and to make decisions on allocating resources to pursue the strategy. The District goal for strategic planning is to identify a clear and articulated path of excellence for educating students for the new century.

The Challenge

The Dysart Unified School District selected several educational technology tools to support STEM-related problem-based learning, foreign language learning, and mobile application development, in addition to the web-based productivity and collaboration tools already in use to support student learning. Gifted cluster teachers participated in professional learning opportunities where participants used the tools while also learning how to implement them in the classroom. Teachers also learned strategies for meeting the unique needs of gifted learners, teaching and modeling digital citizenship, increasing depth of knowledge in learning experiences, and cultivating a growth mindset in students. While all students benefited from the increased strategies applied by teachers in their classroom, gifted students were provided opportunities to work on personalized projects in a variety of areas and collaborate electronically with peers across the district.

The Solution

The Dysart Unified School District selected several educational technology tools to support STEM related problem based learning, foreign language learning, and mobile application development in addition to the web based productivity and collaboration tools already in use to support student learning. Gifted cluster teachers participated in professional learning opportunities where participants used the tools while also learning how to implement them in the classroom. Teachers also learned strategies for meeting the unique needs of gifted learners, teaching and modeling digital citizenship, increasing depth of knowledge in learning experiences, and cultivating a growth mindset in students. While all students benefited from the increased strategies applied by teachers in their classroom, gifted students were provided opportunities to work on personalized projects in a variety of areas and collaborate electronically with peers across the district.

From the U.S. Department of Education:

• Future Ready Schools: Building Technology Infrastructure for Learning

District Point of Contact

Dysart Unified School District
Phone: 623.876.7000
Email: super@dysart.org