The new school year brings a fresh start for students and faculty, and this year there is an added level of excitement at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.
The students will move into the new $18 million Student Center that includes residence hall wings for males and females, dining hall, kitchen, and several commons areas. The building also houses the offices for the residential life staff, security and the school nurse. Construction is continuing on a library in the new center and will be open for spring semester in January 2013.
The new junior class arrived on campus Aug. 4. Following several days of orientation activities, classes will begin on Aug. 9 with opening convocation at 8 a.m. that day. The junior class includes 133 students from 46 of Arkansas’ 75 counties.
Over the summer break, the school also welcomed its new director Corey Alderdice. He replaces Janet Hugo who had served as the school director since 2006 and retired in June. Prior to coming to ASMSA, Alderdice was the assistant director for admissions and public relations at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, a school similar to ASMSA on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.
“There is a spirit of renewal and opportunity throughout the ASMSA community,” Alderdice said. “Faculty, staff and students – new and old – are arriving on campus to find a living environment that now matches the quality of our academic instruction and learning spaces. We look forward to the new Student Center becoming the heart of our school and the space in which our students grow alongside their peers.”
ASMSA is one of 15 public, residential high schools in the country specializing in the education of juniors and seniors with a special interest in advanced careers in math and science. All classes are taught at the college level and more than one-third of the faculty holds doctorate degrees. The school offers 40 courses that allow students to earn college credit. Many ASMSA graduates begin college at the sophomore level and some even begin with junior level classes. The living and learning environment at ASMSA provides an experience that extends beyond the classroom and after graduation.
The State Legislature created ASMSA in 1991 as a means to increase the number of Arkansas students who earn college degrees and are thus better able to contribute to the state’s economy as adults. The 93 seniors in the 2012 graduating class received more than $10 million in scholarship offers. Approximately 85 percent of the graduates are continuing their educations at Arkansas colleges and universities.
ASMSA is open to all Arkansas students who meet the academic criteria and offers free tuition, room and board for all students. Beginning enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year is 244 students representing 58 counties.
ASMSA is located in historic downtown Hot Springs and is a campus of the University of Arkansas System.