Author: Donnie Sewell

For the third year in a row, the STEM Pathways program at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts set an enrollment record.

The hybrid online learning and teacher professional development program is serving 3,863 students across the state through its Computer Science Plus, Advanced Biology Plus and Advanced Statistics Plus cohorts as well as by providing curriculum for aditional educators during the 2023-24 academic year. The program set a record last year with 3,315 students enrolled throughout the three cohorts.

The Computer Science Plus program is serving 3,124 students and 62 teachers across the state. There were 2,912 computer science students statewide enrolled during the 2022-23 academic year.

The Advanced Biology Plus program is serving 323 students and 24 teachers through the Plus program as well as an additional  312 students and 31 educators who use the program’s curriculum in their classroom.

The Advanced Statistics Plus initiative is in the second year of its pilot program. It is providing curriculum and support for six instructors and approximately 100 students.

“I am so proud of the ASMSA STEM Pathways teachers, both those providing the support and those supported,” said Lori Kagebein, director of STEM Pathways. “Teachers new to our program are working hard to master the new content, our returning teachers are stepping up to act as mentors and the Pathways instructors are adding more content and supplements to the materials while cultivating relationships in their role as ‘buddy teachers.’”

The STEM Pathways program began in 2015 with the creation of the Coding Arkansas’ Future initiative. That program offered high schools across the state the opportunity to expand their computer science curriculum while receiving guidance and professional development from ASMSA staff members. While ASMSA instructors taught some computer science courses for schools through digital learning, the main emphasis was preparing educators to gain licensure in computer science through the Computer Science Plus program.

That includes offering summer boot camps to introduce teachers to computer science. Those teachers receive guidance throughout the school year from ASMSA, including continuing professional development through weekly video meetings and a follow-up camp at the conclusion of the academic year. The goal is to prepare those educators to earn their license to teach computer science while also becoming the primary computer science teacher at their school.

The program expanded in recent years to offer a middle school coding block and the Advanced Biology Plus program. In the Advanced Biology Plus program, instructors around the state receive professional development from ASMSA’s life science specialists in the instruction of AP Biology. ASMSA’s biology teachers guide camps prior to the beginning of the school year. They then help educators prepare their curriculum for the year and provide unique lab learning activities that the individual schools may not be able to offer otherwise.

ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice noted the STEM Pathways initiative is an important component of the school's legislated mission.

"ASMSA serves as a statewide center of academic equity and opportunity that ignites the full potential of students and educators," Alderdice said. "Since 1999, ASMSA has seen our outreach programs evolve along with new technologies that meet the needs of teachers across Arkansas. As we look ahead to the new online course choice program that is part of the Arkansas LEARNS Act, we believe there will be continued opportunities for ASMSA to exhibit leadership in ensuring students have access to advanced STEM experiences."

STEM Pathways is made possible in part by an annual grant from the Arkansas Department of Education. Schools and educators interested in participating in STEM Pathways can begin enrolling for the 2024-25 academic year by contacting Kagebein at kagebeinl@asmsa.org. Additional details are available online at https://asmsa.me/digitallearning.

Tickets and sponsorships for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts 30^th Anniversary Gala are now available.

The ASMSA 30^th Anniversary Gala: Ignite, Illuminate, Inspire will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, 2024, in the Creativity and Innovation Complex on the school’s campus. To reserve a ticket or sponsorship, visit https://giving.asmsa.org. All proceeds will support the ASMSA Foundation and are tax deductible.

Dr. Burt Hollandsworth, a chemistry instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, and Blayne Griffin, a member of ASMSA’s Class of 2021, recently published a research article in an international academic journal.

Hollandsworth and Griffin are among the co-authors of an article included in the current issue of Polyhedron, an international journal for research in inorganic chemistry. It publishes original, fundamental, experimental and theoretical work that focuses on the areas of inorganic chemistry.

The paper shares findings of research about the synthesis of highly-colored iron coordination complexes with interesting magnetic properties that are of interest as sensors for small molecules, Hollandsworth said. Visit https://asmsa.me/bhpaper23 to read the paper.

Griffin and Hollandsworth are set to have a second paper published in December in Mendelleev Communications, another chemistry journal.

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. 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: Jennifer Armstrong of Lakeside High School in Lake Village; Heather Bradway of Nettleton Junior High School; Regina Davis of Harmony Grove High School in Benton; Arron Oliver of Eureka Springs High School; and Eric Perez of Nashville High School.

Seven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have been selected to participate in the 5^th Annual Arkansas High School Artists Competition and Exhibition sponsored by Historic Cane Hill and the University of Arkansas School of Art.

Students who had artwork selected for the exhibition include:

• Yared Belete, a senior from Marion, “Self portrait as a villain,” acrylic painting;
• Avery Binuya, a senior from Lamar, “Lavender Spring Ware Rice Bowl and Saucer,” two wheel-thrown ceramic pieces;
• Lilly Hardin, a senior from Hot Springs, “Individuals,” pen and ink drawing;
• Lyla Hill, a senior from Hot Springs, “Lazy Clown,” digital painting;
• Natyleigh Jenkins, a senior from Benton, “Moth,” charcoal portrait;
• Gwen Oliver, a senior from Jonesboro and Oxford, Miss.; “Reflection,” sculpture, and “You’re So Beautiful,” oil painting; and
• Ciara Stephens, a senior from Cherry Valley, “North Winds,” acrylic painting.

Five students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned All-Region recognition at the recent Arkansas Choral Directors Association Region 3 Senior High auditions.

Four of those students qualified to participate in the Region 3 Senior High All-Region Choir clinic that will be held at Bryant High School on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Regional auditions were held Oct. 7 at Bryant Junior High. ASMSA students who earned recognition include:

• Grace Moody, a senior from Little Rock, first chair, Soprano 2, Mixed Choir;
• Taraji Kiyumbi, a sophomore from Palestine, 19^th chair, Tenor 1, Mixed Choir;
• Layla Hoskins, a senior from Rison, 50^th chair, Soprano 2, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir;
• Claira Hartig, a sophomore from Greenbrier, 59^th Chair, Alto 1, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir; and
• Julie Morse, a senior from Mayflower, third alternate, Soprano 2, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir.

A free concert featuring both choirs that is open to the public will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Bryant High School Performing Arts Center. Students who placed in the top 20 chairs of their respective parts are eligible to audition for the All-State Honor Choir. The date for those auditions are to be determined.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts is offering online workshops for Arkansas educators on how to lead a safe and effective eclipse viewing session of the 2024 solar eclipse for their students.

Portions of Arkansas will be in the viewing path for the April 8, 2024, total eclipse. To help teachers prepare for the event, ASMSA physics and astronomy instructors will lead the workshop. Any public, private or charter school educator in Arkansas. Home school educators are also invited. All grade levels are welcome, and each workshop is limited to 20 educators. The sessions are not open to students.

Sessions are set for Dec. 2, 2023; Jan. 20, 2024, and March 9, 2024.

Topics include:

• When to schedule your viewing session;
• How to choose a viewing site;
• Constructing safe viewing devices for the partial phase of the eclipse;
• Sources for safe solar viewing glasses for the partial phase of the eclipse; and
• Citizen science projects your students can participate in during the eclipse.

Every educator who attends a session will be given access to training materials to use in their classes and will be mailed a starter pack of 20 eclipse glasses.

For more information or to register for a workshop, visit https://asmsa.me/eclipsepd.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned South All-Region Orchestra honors during recent auditions, qualifying to participate in the South Region Orchestra Clinic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4.

The South Region Clinic is sponsored by the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. It will be held at Conway High School.

ASMSA students who were selected for the orchestra include:

• Anna Le, a sophomore from Fort Smith, violin 1, fifth chair;
• Annette Hall, a junior from Benton, violin 1, 15^th chair;
• Aubrey McGarrah, a senior from Searcy, viola, eighth chair;
• Gisselle Ellington, a senior from North Little Rock, cello, fourth chair;
• Daniel Lee, a senior from Russellville, cello, ninth chair;
• Paul Murphy, a junior from Conway, cello, 10^th chair;
• Grace Adams, a senior from Lamar, bass, third chair; and
• Alex Back, a senior from Benton, horn in F, third chair.

Students who play string instruments auditioned for the South Region Orchestra on Oct. 14 at Little Rock Mills High School. Auditions for South Region Orchestra wind instruments were held on Oct. 23 at Conway Junior High.

Student musicians will participate in a music clinic at Conway High School on Friday and Saturday. A concert featuring both the junior high and the senior high South Region Orchestras will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in the James H. Clark Auditorium at Conway High School.

Six seniors at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts have been named 2023 QuestBridge National College Match Finalists.

QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that connects exceptional low-income youth with leading institutions of higher education. QuestBridge works with top universities across the country to offer four-year, full scholarships to deserving students who may otherwise be unable to afford to attend those institutions.

ASMSA students selected as a Finalist include Parker Hance of Conway, Elizabeth Show of Bismarck, Tim Palmer of Mena, Ivy Hong of North Little Rock, Xander Napier of Lamar and Shea Stabila of Pangburn.

QuestBridge partnered this year with 50 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Rice University, Stanford University and others.

Students apply for the scholarships through QuestBridge’s free National College Match application. They may list up to 15 of the partner schools at which they would like to be considered for admission.

Finalists who receive a match will be notified on Dec. 1. Finalists who do not receive a match for a scholarship will still be eligible to be considered for regular admission to partner schools and may still receive financial aid in the future. In 2022, more than 1,700 Finalists were matched with a participating institution.

Match Scholarship recipients are granted early admission to one of QuestBridge's college partners with a full four-year scholarship, worth more than $200,000. The Match Scholarship is offered as part of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses. All Match Scholarship packages have no parental contribution or student loans.