SATURDAY ENRICHMENT

Ginette Rossi has taught in grades Pre-K through undergraduate studies for the past 24 years. As an accomplished educator with a passion for literature, writing, and innovative teaching methods, she is the recipient of two inaugural state awards: K-12 AZ Humanities Teacher of the Year and Catalyst Teacher for Phonetic Spit through the Mesa Center for the Arts. Ultimately, she believes that equipping students through the pursuit of inquiry will ensure a secure future for the collective youth.

SATURDAY ENRICHMENT, SUMMER CAMP, & MATH ACCELERATION BRIDGE

Mrs. Pizzagoni is a National Board Certified Teacher. 2023 marks 30 years of teaching in K-8 general and gifted classrooms fostering students' natural abilities and creativity to help them thrive in the pathways they choose. “I seek out innovative, efficient strategies and tools to take care of their academic, social, and emotional needs. My goal is to celebrate students where they are and help them build a vast skill-set to be strong communicators, collaborators, and problem solvers.”

GIFTED MICROSCHOOL & SUMMER CAMP

Mrs. Miller comes to us with a diverse teaching background and great experiences as both a teacher of gifted learners and parent of her two gifted boys. She spent two years teaching gifted students on the Navajo Reservation, taught a year of middle school Science, and then six years teaching as the gifted teacher for American Leadership Academy where she worked with multiple grade levels. Mrs. Miller loves to bring out her students’ critical thinking, problem solving and creative skills through activities and lessons such as student written plays, STEAM projects, and project based learning.

SUMMER FRIDAY ENRICHMENT TEACHER

Information Rebekah A. West Keur, M.E.d. is an academic associate with the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and a middle school gifted specialist educator in the Paradise Valley Unified School District.

Rebekah is an accomplished educator and teacher leader in gifted education, elementary, middle school, high school, and college education with an emphasis in humanities, gifted education, and professional development. She has been working in the field of gifted education for the past fourteen years in elementary school through college programs in title I, suburban, national, and international settings including working with Johns Hopkins CTY program and DDC for gifted youth. Rebekah has presented at Arizona Association of Gifted and Talented (AAGT), The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and SENG conferences.

Rebekah has a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Gifted Education from Arizona State University. She had also studied in English masters programs at ASU and Oxford. She has earned multiple degrees from Grand Valley State University including M.T.C. in Curriculum and Instruction, and a B.A. in English, and in Theater. She is currently a doctoral candidate at ASU.

SUMMER ENRICHMENT CLASSES

Cindy Brown founded Polished Parents following a 30+ year career as a public educator. Cindy specializes in the social emotional needs of families with Gifted, Talented, and Twice Exceptional (2E) children. As a certified Social Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) Parent Group Facilitator, she runs a series of collaborative parent discussion groups each semester. Additionally, Cindy serves as a Program Supervisor for the Teacher in Residence Program at Rio Salado College.

Cindy is actively involved in serving her community, supporting numerous family based organizations and nonprofits. She is an active member of the Junior League of Phoenix as an internal leader, served on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented, and is an active member of Toastmasters International.

SUMMER CAMP

Mrs. McKinley has 20 years of teaching experience in the K-8 grade levels. She is an advocate for the gifted learner and loves incorporating STEAM into the classroom curriculum, in addition to supporting the social/emotional needs of the learner.

SUMMER CAMP

Mr. Murray has experience in both higher education and elementary education. He has dedicated his career to fostering the growth and development of gifted children and integrating technology to enhance the learning experience. He believes that the joy of teaching gifted students lies in unlocking their boundless potential!

ENRICHMENT

Denise Michele Hicks is originally from a Blue Star Military Family of Chicago, Illinois. She is our current President of AAGT, and President Elect of SENG. While in Chicago Public Schools, she participated in gifted programming and STEM enrichment services. Currently, while working on her doctoral studies in STEM Ed Leadership, she serves at Arizona State University in the Center for Bio-mediated, Bio-inspired Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory.

Music Lessons, Classes, and Events

Saxophone has been the center of Armando's musical universe since he began learning music at the age of 10. In his highschool years Armando performed with the prestigious Youngsounds of Arizona, and in college with Tucson Swings. He received his Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies at the University of Arizona where he studied music education, composition, arranging, and was heavily involved in the athletic bands, including the marching and pep bands. Armando is involved in many other aspects of music, including arranging for marching bands, writing film and video game scores, and music therapy. He plays other instruments besides saxophone, including clarinet, flute, native american flute, didgeridoo, piano, ukulele. His outside interests include illustrating, movies, voice acting and reading, Armando currently teaches private music lessons in the Glendale, AZ area and performs solo and with various music groups at local events and venues.

FOUNDER, OWNER, & LEAD TEACHER

Mr. Laningham is life-long learner who loves working with children, learning about history & nature, and the “art” of teaching. He worked at multiple schools and with all grade levels (K-8) as a classroom teacher and gifted programing specialist for over 14 years. He later was a district manager for gifted services providing support for over 6,000 gifted students.

Ages 3-7

Information coming soon