Tempe Elementary School District parent navigator Last updated 09/09/2026
Tempe publishes an unusually complete 2026-27 pathway: universal testing in K and Grades 1, 2, and 4, referral testing for other grades, five Saturday sessions with deadlines, a local PACE threshold beginning at the 94th percentile, two hours of weekly pullout, and selective self-contained options.
Independent from Tempe Elementary School District. Official district instructions always control.
When your family may need to act
Use the row that matches your child's grade and situation. Dates below come from the linked district instructions; confirm them before submitting.
Universal Grades 2 and 4; referral Grades 6-8
Testing runs September 8-21, 2026. Identified students who want retesting must contact their school by August 28; families opting out of universal testing must act before the window begins.
Verify with the district ↗Universal kindergarten and Grade 1; referral Grades 3 and 5
The school-day window runs October 19-30, 2026. Families in referral grades should contact the school before the window and confirm roster placement.
Verify with the district ↗Eligible Pre-K-8 district or out-of-district students
Register by November 23 for December 5, 2026 testing. Later sessions occur February 6, April 3, and May 1, 2027 with their own January 25, March 23, and April 19 deadlines; sessions may close at capacity.
Verify with the district ↗K-5 Immersive 9 and Grades 6-8 ASPIRE applicants
The district lists December 3, 2026 at 9 a.m. as the application opening. Testing eligibility and the separate specialty-school application are both required.
Verify with the district ↗How Bloomfield Academy helps
Use the Parent Guide free. Choose Navigator when you want the process managed around your child. Choose Mentor when you want to connect that local opportunity to a longer-term interest, real projects, and a private record of growth. Bloomfield turns PACE and Gifted Education into three clear layers of support.
Get the local program name, grades, identification process, services, deadlines, parent steps, and official instructions—all in plain language.
Navigator adds a child-specific timeline, deadline and policy alerts, a guided checklist, and one place to organize forms, work samples, and questions for the school.
Mentor includes Navigator plus a 12-week pathway, four short weekly challenges, one substantial monthly project, a Friday parent insight, and a private Growth Portfolio.
What the official record confirms
Applicable school year: 2026-27. Bloomfield separates official requirements from our preparation guidance.
Published coveragePre-K-8 testing; K-5 PACE and Immersive 9 services; Grades 6-8 ASPIRE, honors, and project-based pathways
Published processTempe recognizes Arizona gifted identification at the 97th percentile but locally serves PACE students beginning at the 94th percentile in one approved verbal, quantitative, or nonverbal reasoning area. ASPIRE requires either 97th percentile in one area or 94th percentile in one area plus at least 85th percentile in another. Universal testing covers K and Grades 1, 2, and 4; Grades 3 and 5-8 may test by referral, and repeat testing is limited to once every 12 months.
Published modelPACE serves K-5 students at every elementary campus with at least two hours of weekly pullout, project-based enrichment, and twice-yearly EXCEL-skill progress reports. The Immersive 9 is a self-contained K-5 gifted school. Grades 6-8 offer the self-contained ASPIRE Academy at Connolly, honors classes, and a project-based elective. Placement rules differ, so general PACE eligibility does not automatically establish academy admission.
Your family's route
This plan translates the published process without changing it. Confirm current district instructions before submitting.
Adds the date and task to one family plan, with alerts before it becomes urgent.
Turns the district language into a short list of questions to confirm with your school.
Provides guided prompts and one private place to organize authentic examples and documents.
Tracks forms, confirmations, and any related enrollment or transfer step.
Keeps the decision, follow-up, and appeal questions together so the next move is clear.
Application support
District forms and prompts vary. This annotated, fictional example shows how to turn a real observation into useful evidence without copying language or inventing accomplishments.
Explore the annotated example →What have you observed that shows your child may need greater depth, complexity, or pace?
“After her model failed, Maya changed one part at a time, recorded each result, and explained why the designs failed differently.”
Parent-to-parent
Share practical, firsthand wisdom about PACE and Gifted Education. Parent experience is kept separate from the official program facts above.
Trust is part of the product
The program facts above come from the linked official sources. Bloomfield's checklist translates those facts into practical next steps without predicting selection or presenting parent anecdotes as district policy.
Supported by the district links and applicable school year shown on this guide.
A plain-language explanation or constructive preparation recommendation.
Shown only when it is dated, moderated, and clearly labeled—not as an official rule.
Primary sources
Last updated 09/09/2026. Program rules can change; verify the current school year with Tempe Elementary School District before acting.