Dr. Neil Oatsvall, a history instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been named the 2020 Arkansas History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education. Inaugurated in 2004, the award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school. The award honors one K-12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and U.S. Territories. In fall 2020, the National History Teacher of the Year will be selected from the pool of state winners.

Oatsvall attributed the honor to his students’ classroom efforts and the inspiration from his fellow educators. As an alumnus of the University of North Carolina, Oatsvall referenced Basketball Hall of Fame and longtime Tar Heels coach Dean Smith’s approach to accepting recognition for achievements.

“When Dean Smith won his first national championship in 1982, he declared that winning the big game did not make him any better of a coach than he had been before it,” Oatsvall said. “In the spirit of Coach Smith, I am honored to accept this award in the name of my students and ASMSA. No teacher could have ever asked for a better set of students or place to be with them in the classroom. Any recognition I receive is truly a testament to the brilliance and hard work of my students and the standards of excellence set every day by my talented colleagues.”

Oatsvall completed his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina in Asian Studies (Japanese language) and history. He received his master’s degree from North Carolina State University and his doctorate from the University of Kansas, both in history. Oatsvall currently serves as the chair of the Humanities and Fine Arts Department and serves as a history and social science instructor at ASMSA.

He has published in various outlets, including Agricultural History, Environment and History, and Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies. His book manuscript is under advanced contract with the University of Alabama Press. Oatsvall transfers his passion for history research into his teaching at ASMSA, especially in his United States history classes and humanities capstone research class, which he co-teaches.

In addition to a $1,000 honorarium, ASMSA will receive a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials and recognition at a ceremony in Arkansas.

Now celebrating its 25th year, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, an archive of American history. Drawing on the 70,000 documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection and an extensive network of eminent historians, the Institute provides teachers, students and the general public with direct access to unique primary source materials.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians and the Council of Independent Colleges.

Sara Ali, a rising senior from Little Rock, wanted to find a way she could honor her younger sister Aiza and the struggle she endured battling leukemia.

Aiza was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) near the end of 2017 when she was 7.  ALL starats in bone marrow where white blood cells are developed. If undiagnosed and untreated, it can spread quickly to the blood and other parts of a person’s body.

Corey Alderdice, director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, was selected for the inaugural Arkansas Money & Politics Future 50.

The Future 50 is a list of the state’s business and political leaders poised to shape the future of Arkansas’ economic, political and cultural engines, according to the magazine.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will provide an online option this fall for its students and their families who are not ready to fully participate in the residential experience because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

ASMSA moved to remote instruction for all students in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic began to evolve in Arkansas. Students completed the spring 2020 semester via remote instruction, primarily through asynchronous learning with weekly meetings between students and instructors taking place via video.

Fall 2020 online courses will be a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning with multiple sessions per week conducted live via Zoom. Course options will be available across disciplines but will be limited in number. Over the past month, faculty have been translating more than a dozen ASMSA classes into an online format for both this new opportunity as well as should the school need to pivot to remote learning again in the fall.

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students Emily Smith of Cabot and Minnie Lee of Charleston were named state winners in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and qualified for the national competition.

Smith and Lee qualified as a team for the Arkansas competition — which is sponsored by the Arkansas Water Environment Association — through the West Central Regional Science Fair at ASMSA in February. Their project focused on the identification of algae, ostracods and zooplankton in three springs in the Hot Springs National Park.

The national competition is sponsored by Water Environment Federation and Xylem. It gathers imaginative young minds from all over the world who are interested in water and sustainability issues. It draws competitors from more than 30 countries.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has been recognized as one of the nation’s top-performing public high schools in the latest Jay Mathews Challenge Index rankings.

Mathews, an education columnist for The Washington Post, created the Challenge Index in 1998 as a way to recognize schools across the nation who adequately challenge average students. It is the oldest high-school ranking system in the country. It has been published as “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” list in The Washington Post and Newsweek magazine in past years. This year’s list was announced on his website — jaymathewschallengeindex.com.

Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, a life sciences instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, is one of 10 national recipients of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Awards.

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation provides unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories and lives from America’s traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. The Henry Ford’s Teacher Innovator Awards, co-sponsored by Raytheon Technologies, honors pre-kindergarten through 12^th-grade teachers who inspire their students to challenge the rules and take risks, who demonstrate how to be collaborative and empathetic, and teach the value of learning from staying curious and learning from failure.

The tragic events and unrest of the past few weeks serve as stark reminders of our nation’s continued struggle with racial equality and justice.  ASMSA’s community of learning stands in solidarity with our students, families, alumni, and colleagues of color against acts of racism, prejudice, and hate.

From the wide array of individual backgrounds and experiences, we strive to weave a tapestry of understanding and growth within the classroom and residential experiences as students learn from and alongside their peers of different backgrounds, faiths, and beliefs.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts held it 26^th annual Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2020 on Saturday, May 23.

This year’s ceremony was unlike the previous 25, however. It was the school’s first-ever virtual commencement, featuring both administrative and student speakers, a video processional and graduates announcing their future plans via video. The commencement and an Honors Convocation recognizing students’ academic achievements for the 2019-20 school year were broadcast on the school’s Facebook page.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts recognized students for their academic achievements during its annual Honors Convocation on May 23.

Departmental and special awards as well as recognition for other student achievements are announced at the annual spring semester event. This year’s convocation was held virtually, and it was followed by a virtual commencement, the first in the school’s history.