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Meet our STEAM Teachers

Paul Servis

If you are interested in joining the Willis STEAM Academy for the 2027-2028 school year, please complete the interest for here STEAM Interest Form, or email Carmigiano.Jennifer@cusd80.com.

Willis STEAM Academy is the premier choice for a gifted education, highlighting the complexities of the needs of gifted and talented learners. From our inception in 2002, as the first junior high gifted program in Chandler, we have the legacy and reputation of a highly successful program where students have phenomenal junior high experience! We are dedicated to fostering the holistic development of our exceptional students through a dynamic curriculum rooted in critical thinking and extensive research projects. Our mission is to cultivate research and writing skills, analytical prowess, presentation finesse, executive function mastery, organizational acumen, and learning skills proficiency. Through a gifted pedagogy approach, we provide challenging materials tailored to gifted learners, empowering them to make intricate connections across various ideas and content domains. We have FUN! We are committed to nurturing the intellectual curiosity and academic excellence of our gifted learners, preparing them to thrive in a complex and ever-evolving world. Our students are successful no matter where they go or what they pursue!

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Critical Thinking and Research:

Empowering students to question, analyze, and synthesize information.
Encouraging extensive research projects to develop advanced inquiry skills.
Cultivating a culture of intellectual curiosity and exploration.

College Skills Development:

Creating opportunities for academic skill development.
Enhancing executive function and organizational competencies.
Instilling resilience, adaptability, and leadership qualities.

Connected Learning and Innovation:

Inspiring students to make interdisciplinary connections.
Encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and innovation.
Preparing students to excel in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

How to qualify for STEAM Academy

For consideration at the Willis STEAM Academy, students must meet the criteria of the Cognitive Abilities Test, IQ test or another approved assessment to qualify for our program.

Have record of CoGAT score or arrange to take the test - CUSD Gifted Testing Site.

Willis Gifted

offered to all students who score at or above the 97th percentile on a verbal, quantitative, and/or nonverbal battery, or a composite score at or above the 95th percentile of a test included on the Arizona State-Approved Gifted Test List.

Willis TALENTED

Students must be IN boundary of Willis and express interest.
Students have a 87% percentile or higher on a verbal, quantitative, or nonverbal battery.
Approval by District Gifted Specialist

Future Prep at STEAM

What does college prep or career prep really mean? It is teaching the skills necessary for an ever-changing world, and we develop these skills in preparation for college and career choices of the future! We specifically craft lessons in all of our classes to create rich, age-appropriate ways to increase the development of these skills. We have FUN doing activities, experiments, simulations and more! Our gifted learners continue to hone these skills to make them be successful no matter where they continue their educational experience! Our students are accepted and thrive at any high school and beyond!

Willis TEACHES our gifted and talented learners the following academic skills within our classes:

organization
research
communication both oral and written
critical thinking
problem solving
time management
project management
cultural competence
information literacy
note-taking
ways to study
analytical thinking
summarizing
active listening
deconstructing texts
reading for meaning
empirical thinking
discourse analysis
deductive and inductive thinking
expermental design
conflict resolution
hypothesizing
data analysis
debate
efficiency
digital literacy
collaboration
presentation skills
creativity