Author: Donnie Sewell

Four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors were among 84 students statewide named candidates for the 2023 United States Presidential Scholars program, considered one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars program was established in 1964 by executive order of the president to recognize and honor some of the nation’s most distinguished graduation high school seniors.

The 2023 candidates for U.S. Presidential Scholar from ASMSA are:

• Robert Boerwinkle of El Dorado;
• Lydia Krebs of Maumelle;
• Ari Pennington of Hot Springs; and
• Shreyam Tripathi of Conway.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts received a $10,000 grant from the Mathematical Association of America Neff Outreach Fund to establish a Math Olympiad program for Arkansas middle-schoolers.

The Mathematical Association of America is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students and enthusiasts whose mission is to advance the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world.

The Neff Outreach Fund was established in the summer of 2022 by the MAA and the John and Mary Neff Foundation. The Neff Foundation has provided funding to support projects designed to encourage middle school students to study and persist in their interest in mathematics. The Neff Outreach Fund helps MAA to offer a pilot outreach program that serves middle school students in rural and indigenous communities.

The grant will allow ASMSA’s Outreach Department to create a Math Olympiad program which will introduce, teach and foster important mathematical concepts and strategies for flexible problem solving, intuition, creativity and ingenuity for all participants.

Six middle schools from around the state are set to compete at the first Math Olympiad in April, said Amy Brown-Westmoreland, outreach coordinator for ASMSA.

The program’s tournament will provide an opportunity for students to participate in a professionally run competition and to network with other students from across the state. Through the program, teachers across the state will have access to professional development opportunities while serving as sponsors of the teams.

ASMSA was one of five institutions nationwide to receive a Neff Outreach Fund grant this year.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts robotics team earned recognition in two recent competitions.

The team won three first-place honors and finished third overall at a local tournament held Nov. 5 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Team members won first-place awards for notebook, marketing and robot performance. Their third-place overall finish qualified them to move on to the regional tournament.

The BEST of Texas Regional Competition was held Dec. 3 in Frisco, Texas. The team won second place for the Most Robust Robot.Team members included Elijah Goodrich, Evan Quirk, Parker Hance, Trinity Kyles, Robert Boerwinkle (captain), Nasya Choy, Buddha Moore (captain), Charlotte Boehme (captain), Vicky Zhu, Gavin Chen, and Melike Senlikci, all contributed. The team is sponsored by computer science instructor Nicholas Seward.

The traditional narrative that many students hear early in their educational years is do well in school now so that you can get into a good college with a scholarship later.

Perhaps at one time that was all it. While good grades and strong ACT/SAT scores are still essential, they aren’t enough. Many highly-selective colleges and universities are seeking well-rounded students who also volunteer in the community, seek out internships and research opportunities, and are involved in school and extracurricular activities that also include state and national recognition.

Finding research or internship opportunities on their own can be a challenge for many students. Having connections to the correct resources or someone else who does is not always a possibility. Even knowing where to begin such a search can be hard for most students.

Fourteen faculty members at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts have earned promotions through the school’s new Faculty Advancement Plan.

The Faculty Advancement Plan is designed to empower faculty members to reach their full potential through goal-setting and recognition of excellence. In addition to developing depth within their content area, the plan emphasizes breadth and balance across three domains — academic, service and professional achievements. It provides a financial benefit for those who complete the process.

The plan establishes three faculty ranks — Instructor, Instructor of Distinction and Instructor of Excellence. Instructor is the entry-level rank for all new full-time faculty members. Instructors may apply for either of the higher ranks by attaining points based on a rubric that takes into account the faculty members’ campus involvement and accomplishments both within and outside of the classroom.

Faculty base salary is determined by the level of degree they hold upon being hired — $47,000 for a bachelor’s degree, $53,000 for a master’s degree and $60,000 for a doctoral degree.

By earning higher ranks, educators may increase their base pay by as much as $10,000. Faculty members who attain the Instructor of Distinction designation have an additional $5,000 added to their base salary. Those who earn the Instructor of Excellence rank receive an additional $5,000. An educator may forgo the Instructor of Distinction rank and apply directly for Instructor of Excellence, which requires additional points in the rubric, and earn a $10,000 increase in their base salary.

As many schools districts struggle with teacher shortages, the Faculty Advancement Plan is a proactive approach to ensure ASMSA’s faculty compensation remains competitive on the state and national level.

“ASMSA is fortunate to have exceptional faculty who build and sustain their careers as part of our community of learning,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “While the school does not face the same recruitment and retention challenges of many public school districts, we want to ensure our educators are recognized for their commitment to ASMSA’s special mission both in their service and salary.”

Discussions on the development of a Faculty Advancement Plan began about three years ago. ASMSA’s enabling legislation previously stated that teachers could not hold tenure nor rank. Act 354 of 2021 of the Arkansas General Assembly struck the language about rank. The ASMSA Governing Council subsequently began work on developing a draft plan for the program. Through the work of a select committee, the plan was completed, submitted to the University of Arkansas System for direction and comment, and later approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees at its May 2022 meeting.

Faculty members were able to submit an application for consideration for the first time this fall. Application deadlines were September 1, and each one was considered by the Faculty Advancement Committee.

The committee approved promotions for 14 faculty members to be considered for the rank of Instructor of Excellence. Those promotions were approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees at its November meeting.

Faculty members who were granted the rank of Instructor of Excellence, their highest degree, and their department included:

• Carl Frank, Master of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science;
• Caleb Grisham, Master of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science;
• Whitney Holden, Ph.D., Science;
• Bryan Ieamsang, Master of Arts, Arts and Humanities;
• James Katowich, Master of Fine Arts, Arts and Humanities;
• Dan Kostopulos, Ph.D., Arts and Humanities;
• Patrycja Krakowiak, Ph.D., Science;
• Walt Levisee, Master of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science;
• Ron Luckow, Master of Arts, Arts and Humanities;
• Nicholas Seward, Master of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science;
• Shane Thompson, Master of Science, Science;
• Jack Waddell, Ph.D., Science;
• Lindsey Waddell, Ph.D., Science; and
• Brad Wreyford, Master of Fine Arts, Arts and Humanities.

“To earn the Instructor of Excellence rank through our Faculty Advancement Plan, faculty members must demonstrate excellence in three domains: academic instruction, service, and professional development,” said Stuart Flynn, dean of academic affairs at ASMSA. “The application process is rigorous and requires applicants to review thoroughly their teaching practices and to think deeply about the arc of their careers.

“As the Faculty Advancement Committee reviewed applications, we were impressed by the quality of work demonstrated by these instructors and the commitment they showed not only to their individual students but also to the larger ASMSA community. I am proud to work alongside such accomplished and dedicated teachers, and I congratulate all of them on this significant achievement.”

The ranks will officially go into effect on January 1, 2023.

Six Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students had original pieces of artwork accepted into the Fourth Annual Arkansas High School Art Exhibition sponsored by Historic Cane Hill and the University of Arkansas School of Art.

Artwork by senior Lilia Adams of Paragould, junior Yared Belete of Marion, junior Evelyn Gratton of Omaha, senior Teddy Graves of Huttig, junior Natyleigh Jenkins of Benton and junior Gwen Oliver of Jonesboro were selected for the exhibition. The artwork will be on display at the Cane Hill Gallery through Jan. 216, 2023. The gallery is located at 14627 Hwy. 45 in Canehill in Northwest Arkansas.

Members of the ASMSA Debate team joined students from 22 other Arkansas high schools and universities to participate in the Arkansas Student Congress.

The event was sponsored by the Arkansas Communication and Theatre Arts Association at the Clinton Presidential Center and the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock on Nov. 13-15. The Arkansas Student Congress provides students the opportunity to participate in a simulation of Congress. Students join party delegations and attempt to guide legislation through the process, including adoption by the Student Congress.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts recently recognized educators from across the state with its annual Teacher Impact Award.

The Teacher Impact Award recognizes educators who helped shape and influence incoming students at ASMSA. Students nominated teachers who aided their growth both intellectually and emotionally. There were more than 100 teachers nominated for recognition. Every educator who was nominated received a certificate of recognition. A letter highlighting their recognition also was sent to each educator’s principal.

A committee of ASMSA staff members read through the recommendations to give further recognition to five educators from different regions within the state. These stand-out teachers received an additional gift.

Educators who received additional recognition this year include: Heather James of Camden Fairview High School; Seth Jernigan of eStem Junior High School in Little Rock; Matthew Kalkbrenner of White Hall High School; Tara Parra, a former middle school teacher at Decatur Middle School; and Robin Sneed of Blytheville High School.

Students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts took the top two places in the 2022 Congressional App Challenge sponsored by Forth Congressional District Rep. Bruce Westerman.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual event in which middle and high school students across the country design and code their own original apps. It is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where members of Congress host contests in their districts, encouraging students to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Each participating member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during the annual #HouseofCode festival.

Senior Vicky Zhu won first place for her app called StreBit. The app helps a user determine how flexible they are. The camera-based app allows the user to keep track of their progress. The app is a result of Zhu’s Capstone project.

Taking second place was the team of juniors Geoffrey Williams, Jayden Patel, James Mathis and Zechariah Cleaver for their app Study Farm, a study aid designed to help users stay focused on their work. The app has a timer that allows a student to play a simple farm-themed game every 30 minutes as a break from studying. After five minutes of break time, the game stops for the student to return to their schoolwork. The cycle repeats itself until the designated study time has passed.

Westerman announced the winners at an event on Nov. 30. There were 21 apps submitted for the competition from ASMSA, Dardanelle High School, Lakeside High School and Lake Hamilton High School.