Author: Donnie Sewell

Four teams from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts took the top four spots in the state 2023 TEAMS competition.

TEAMS, which stands for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science, is an annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics competition that challenges middle school and high school teams to work collaboratively to solve real-world challenges by applying their math and science knowledge in practical, creative ways.

Two Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were awarded The Gates Scholarship for the Spring 2023 cycle.

Trenton Noel of Little Rock and Jaden Williams of Fort Smith, both members of the Class of 2023, were award the scholarship which is sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding minority high school seniors from low-income households.

Bethany Catron, a member of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Class of 2023, was selected as a Horatio Alger State Scholarship recipient.

As a State Scholar, Catron received a $10,000 scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. The program specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives, according to the organization’s website. The scholarships are funded by Horatio Alger Members who have overcome similar challenges and are awarded to eligible students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

The team of Amanda Navarro and Charis Xiong won a Third Grand Award in the Plant Sciences category for their project “Development of a Novel AI Soybean Root-Knot Nematode Stress Assessment Model in Soybean Plants (Both Field and Home-Grown).”

Shreyam Tripathi won a Fourth grand Award in the Translational Medical Science category for his project “Investigating the Role of Rev1 in Maintaining Accurate DNA Replication Past G4 Containing Regions in the Leading and Lagging Strands.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include results from the national competition. The original story begins with the fourth paragraph.

A team from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts placed third in the 2023 National Personal Finance Challenge.

ASMSA seniors Beatrice Nknuga of Sherwood and Ai’Yanna Tombs of North Little Rock teamed with junior Daniel Nkunga of Sherwood represented ASMSA at the national competition held June 5 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio. The contest was sponsored by the Council for Economic Education.

Thirty-three teams competed for the title. Each team had two hours to review a detailed fictitious family case study and develop a presentation and then present to the assembled judges. The teams were divided into four groups with one team advancing to the final round.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition at the Arkansas Junior Academy of Science, including two students who are now eligible to participate in a national conference next year.

During the competition, the students present their research on various topics to a panel of judges. This year’s state competition was held in conjunction with the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Central Arkansas on March 31 and April 1.

Carl Frank and Nicholas Seward, both computer science instructors at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, were selected as finalists for the Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year for 2023.

The Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science selected five finalists for the award, which honors educators who demonstrate a strong commitment to and substantial impact on the state’s computer science initiative in their school and community. The award was created in December 2018 by then Gov. Asa Hutchinson. This was the fifth year for the award.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts’ Class of 2023 earned about $20 million in scholarship offers as a group pushing the overall historical scholarship total extended to all graduates to more than $304 million.

The total was announced during the school’s 29^th annual Commencement Ceremony which honored the Class of 2023 on Saturday, May 20, at Bank OZK Arena at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The group included 77 students from 31 counties.

Though student persistence rates were consistent with recent cohorts, this year's graduating class was smaller as the result of available residential spaces being limited with the need for additional quarantine space during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as balancing class sizes in advance of the residential expansion that occurred in Fall 2022.

Michaela Stevens, a junior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, earned recognition in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards national competition.

Stevens received a National Silver Key for her poem “expired film” in the writing competition. She advanced to the national competition by earning a Regional Golden Key in the competition’s regional contest earlier this year.