Hidden Hills is very fortunate to offer special services to meet the needs of our students physically, emotionally, socially and academically.  These include, social worker, school psychologist, school nurse, honors classes, resource classes, speech classes, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

Student Success Team
The Student Success Team consists of parents, regular classroom teacher, special education teacher, nurse, psychologist, speech-language pathologist, and other specialists as necessary.  Parents are encouraged to be involved in this process.  Parents who suspect that their child is experiencing difficulty in the school environment may want to discuss the problem with the teacher or request a referral be made to the Student Success Team.  Some problems that students experience are resolved with assistance from the Student Success Team.  Other problems require further assessment or intervention; those students are referred for individual student evaluation.  Click here for additional information in this area.

Social Worker, Amy Lieberman  alieberman@pvschools.net
Our social worker on coordinates many different programs here at Hidden Hills including Parent Education, Parent Support Groups, Student Support Groups, Peer Mediation, Conflict Resolution and Family Assistance. 

Psychologist, Jennifer Whitted jwhitted@pvschools.net   
Our school psychologist performs the necessary testing for students, conducts student evaluations in and out of the classroom setting and is available to answer the many questions that parents and staff members might have.

Speech and Language Therapy, Julie Heisler  jheisler@pvschools.net
PVUSD offers speech therapy to help students whole speech and language skills may inhibit their academic achievement.  A student may qualify for speech therapy in addition to other special education services, or may receive speech therapy without the need for other services.  Click here for additional information on speech and language therapy.

Health services, Lynn Beutler  lbeutler@pvschools.net
One more very important staff member is our full time registered nurse who stays very busy tending to many bumps, bruises and illnesses along with providing educational human growth and development programs to our 4th, 5th and 6th grade students.

Gifted Education, Lois Farlin  lfarlin@pvschools.net 
                         Beth Christensen bchristensen@pvschools.net        
The Honors Program in the Paradise Valley School District is available at each district school and is designed to serve students who are identified as academically talented in the areas of verbal, mathematical or nonverbal reasoning according to the Arizona Department of Education guidelines.  Arizona law mandates that students who score at the 97th percentile or above on a test of reasoning from the state approved list shall receive services to provide instruction commensurate with their academic abilities and potential.  In order to provide an equal opportunity to participate in the Honors Program, during the month of April all second grade students are given one of the state approved tests of reasoning.  Students new to the district are offered the opportunity to test for possible placement in the Honors Program and students already in the district can be nominated by a teacher, parent or themselves for testing consideration through a nomination form available from the honors teacher.  These testing opportunities are available three times during the school year.  Test results are communicated to the parents or legal guardians within 30 days and, upon request, explanation of test results is available.  Hidden Hills offers honors classes to all students grade three through six who qualify for the program.  Click here for additional information on gifted education.

Special Education, Janet Greenwell jgreenwell@pvschools.net
                           Donna Loughney dloughney@pvschools.net

Reading specialists, Julie Kautenburger jukautenburger@pvschools.net
                            Stacey Stout sstout@pvschools.net
All new and kindergarten students are screened for possible disabilities in the areas of vision, hearing, speech, academic performance and social/emotional development.  Screenings are conducted by appropriate school personnel.  Students who are suspected of having a disability are referred to the Student Success Team for further assessment and assistance.  For those students who qualify, he/she may receive resource services for math or reading which enables the student to remain in the regular classroom for most of the day and is scheduled to work with the special education teacher for a period of time for remediation in those specific areas.  Hidden Hills offers resource services to all Kindergarten through grade 6 students who qualify for the program.  Click here for additional information on special education.