About Our School
The Gifted and Talented Educational Program (GATE) is offered at Banks Elementary to qualifying students K-5
In-person classes are being held once per week
If questions, contact GATE department by email or contact Janelle Odom by email
Contact GATE Teacher Susan Kelly by email
For more information on this program, please visit our district website
OMA Programs offered at Banks:
Music - email Nora Ford Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade
email Dan Brown 4th and 5th grade
Kindergarten - music exploration
1st grade - music exploration
2nd grade - music exploration
3rd grade - recorders
4th grade - orchestra or band
5th grade - orchestra or band
Visual Arts - email Instructor Sarah Howard
1st grade and 3rd grade
For more information on OMA programs, please visit our district website
Banks Elementary cultivates strong individuals that engage in nature and learn how to be part of a pack, which harkens back to the bobcat, Banks’ school mascot.
At Banks, we emphasize the positive traits of the bobcat, who is independent, yet family-oriented. Our teachers furnish expectations by sharing goals and objectives in order to help explain how each lesson builds toward those goals. When our parents join our Banks Bobcat Pack, they regularly meet with teachers in order to stay involved.
Located in the Tucson Mountains just south of Saguaro National Park, Banks incorporates the outdoors into multiple facets of the student experience. We partner with Saguaro National Park, Camp Cooper, and the Desert Musuem for field trips. Representatives from Kitt Peak and the University of Arizona make frequent visits for stargazing nights. We have an outdoor learning space and a new outdoor fitness center for all students to use.