Dear Parents,

Welcome to your child's gifted classroom. I am looking forward to witnessing the growth of your children in their academic learning as well as their social emotional growth. As a teacher, I feel that a child learns best when they are taught in an environment which focuses on the whole child, where they feel safe to make mistakes and ask questions. I teach using an approach that mixes acceleration and enrichment. Enrichment provides depth to the regular curriculum. Acceleration is closer to the general education curriculum but exposes a child to new content earlier or the same content in less time. My 4th and 5th graders keep a gratitude journal and are encouraged to perform at least one act of kindness each week. Gratitude journals promote positivity, self and world awareness, and decrease stress. I have been teaching since 1985 in Albuquerque. After teaching for some time I decided to stay home for 5 years until my last child was in school. I love teaching and feel extremely blessed to be at such a high caliber school. Please read the monthly newsletters that are written by the students. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at padilla_dina@aps.edu.

Thank You,

Ms. Dina Padilla

Teacher of the Gifted

Gifted and TESOL endorsements

Wilson Certified Instructor

Dual Certification Elementary/Special Education