Author: Donnie Sewell

The following is a message from ASMSA Executive Director Corey Alderdice shared with the campus community and institutional stakeholders.

August 23rd holds special meaning for ASMSA.  On August 23, 1993, students in the Charter Class began their first day of coursework and set this wonderful experiment into motion.  This time last year, we looked back at the legacy of so many who fought to shape this institution.  Today, I think it's essential that we use this occasion to look at what’s ahead for ASMSA.

Earlier this month, Hot Springs City Manager Bill Burrough shared that he expects next year's budget to include $4 million the Hot Springs Board of Directors reserved to bring down the former St. Joseph's Hospital per a 2010 agreement between the City and University of Arkansas System.  This agreement stemmed from a request by then-Gov. Mike Beebe for the community to reaffirm its commitment to the school’s success.  Both the decision in 2010 and the investment beginning in 2025 reinforces the city's commitment to the school and demonstrates the mutual benefits of having Arkansas’ premier public high school in downtown Hot Springs.

When it became clear in the mid-2000s that the hospital complex could no longer sustain the needs of students as a residential space, at no time did ASMSA consider relocating from Hot Springs. Instead, campus leadership began work on a facilities plan that would establish ASMSA as a cornerstone of Central Avenue with an eye to the future.  In the time since, ASMSA has invested more than $35 million in the redevelopment of the campus.  The opening of the new Campus Administration Building this month completed the first phase of our physical transformation.  On December 31st, we will officially return the hospital complex to the full ownership of the City of Hot Springs.

The recent news that demolition is expected to begin in 2025 has, understandably, left some members of the community upset about the hospital’s fate.  School officials studied the long term viability of the hospital across its first twenty years.  In 2015, we conducted a feasibility study to assess the potential of retaining the Cedar Street Wing which concluded such an effort was both logistically and cost prohibitive.  In 2019, ASMSA sought approval to restore the former Chapel and Convent into living and gathering spaces that conformed to the original vision for how they could fit into campus life.  While saving the full hospital was impractical, campus leadership believed it was necessary to preserve a portion of the structures that was within our capacity to do so.

Now that ASMSA has entered its fourth decade of educational excellence, it is critical that we begin taking active steps to redevelop the hospital’s footprint once the demolition and site rehabilitation are completed over the next few years. I’ve noted regularly that if ASMSA’s needs result in the loss of this small portion of Hot Springs’ history, then we must certainly ensure that something meaningful both to our school and the community at large takes its place.

Over the past year, we began discussions in earnest about what’s ahead.  The consensus among our internal and external stakeholders is that spaces that fulfill ASMSA’s legislated visual and performing arts mission along with additional housing that rises to the General Assembly’s vision of expanded school choice throughout Arkansas are both urgently needed and highly-deserving of further investment by the State.

By 2033 and ASMSA’s 40th anniversary celebration, our vision is that we will achieve at least another $25 million in capital investment in both the campus and a thriving downtown Hot Springs.  Doing so will require institutional, legislative, and private support; however, we will build on the last fifteen years of success to ensure our students, colleagues, and community have the resources they need to achieve their full potential.  Combining ASMSA’s efforts with the ongoing work by the City as well as Hot Springs Metro Partnership to redevelop the former Majestic Hotel site across Cedar Street provides a truly generational opportunity to define these spaces as showpieces at the end of one of the most iconic streets in America.

Hot Springs has a storied past. My sincere hope is that both our city and ASMSA’s future will be even brighter.  Let’s work together to make that possibility a reality.

Serving as dean of students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has given Dr. Rheo Morris the opportunity to interact with students and their families from many different regions of Arkansas.

ASMSA has students from 53 Arkansas counties during the 2024-25 academic year. Many of the students come from smaller, rural communities that most Arkansans might not be able to locate on the state map. For Morris, that may be a bit easier this year after she recently completed the Leadership Arkansas program sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas.

Morris was a member of the program’s Class XVIII, which graduated earlier this year. The nine-month program consists of nine multi-day sessions held in different locations throughout the state. The sessions feature Arkansas leaders who represents a wide geographic base and who have diverse backgrounds and vocations. Class XVIII included 53 participants.

“While traveling the state and learning about its industries, I also had a chance to identify some of the communities where my students reside,” Morris said. “Now, I get so excited when I can actually tell a student that I know where somewhere like Waldo is located. It also gives me an opportunity to share with them an industry near their hometown so they have more incentives to return to Arkansas if they leave for college.”

The experience allowed the Arkansas transplant to learn more about the state she now calls home. The program provided her and her cohort-mates the chance to learn facts about the state and its industries of which they were unaware.

“I had no idea I would graduate nine months later and be amazed at the number of industries within our state and the numerous opportunities for native Arkansans and transplants alike,’ she said. “For example, my favorite day included visiting Nucor-Yamato (a steel company in Blytheville) where I was astonished to learn of Arkansas’ massive footprint in the nation’s steel production.”

The Leadership Arkansas class is a great way to network with incredible individuals from across the state, Morris said. Participants were able to learn different approaches to problem-solving from different kinds of stakeholders and experiences.

Morris will use the knowledge and connections she gained through the program to help ASMSA students “plug into their local communities and have a reason to return to or stay in Arkansas after college because of all the opportunities available” within the state.

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

Faculty members who were promoted beginning in the upcoming academic year, including their highest degree and department, are:

• Elizabeth Brown, Master of Arts, Arts and Humanities, Instructor of Excellence;
• Mary Leigh, Ph.D., Arts and Humanities, Instructor of Excellence;
• Brian Isbell, Master of Fine Arts, Arts and Humanities, Instructor of Excellence;
• Allyn Dodd, Ph.D., Science, Instructor of Distinction; and
• Burt Hollandsworth, Ph.D., Science, Instructor of Distinction.

The Faculty Advancement Plan includes 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 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.

The 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 emphasized breadth and balance across three domains — academic, service and professional achievements. It provides a financial benefit for those who complete the process.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has earned Cognia Accreditation. Cognia is a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts and education service providers.

Cognia, formerly AdvancED, recognizes districts that meet rigorous standards focused on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation that meets the needs of learners and effective leadership. Accreditation is determined by the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission based on the school meeting the organization’s performance standards.

ASMSA conducted its Cognia Accreditation renewal process earlier this year. To earn Cognia Accreditation, a school must implement a continuous process of improvement and submit to internal and external review. Schools in good standing can maintain their accreditation for a six-year term.

Cognia is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). To learn more about Cognia Accreditation, visit cognia.org.

A piece by Dr. Thomas Dempster, associate dean for Arts and Humanities and director of bands at ASMSA, was featured during a session at the 53^rd annual International Double Reed Society conference.

“Zugzwang,” a piece for horn in F and bassoon, was performed by Allison Nicotera, a bassoonist and assistant professor of bassoon at the University of Kentucky, and Bert Hill, a horn in F musician, at the conference on July 22. The performance was included in Nicotera’s conference session, “The Brass Tacks of Bassoon: Exploring Brass Influence in Bassoon Writing.” The conference was held at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Dempster said the piece “explores various colors and possibilities of the uncommon pairing of bassoon and horn.” He said the bassoon has horn-like moments while the horn may occasionally sound more bassoon-like using techniques such as muting, stopping and playing in lower registers.

The piece’s title is related to a term in chess and game theory, Dempster said. A Zugzwang is a situation where one player is placed at a disadvantage through being forced or obligated to make a move. He said the Zugzwang is a pursuit or a chase before an endgame scenario.

“I imagined the piece as a series of melodic moves that bounce between the instruments and a long sequence of chases,” Dempster said. “While it sounds somewhat serious, the piece has many moments of humor and silliness, and unlike a turn-based games, both players end up in a harmonious draw at the end.”

Dempster said he feels very fortunate and thankful to have a piece reach an audience such as the one at the conference, which is a peer-reviewed, prestigious international conference for double-reed instruments such as oboe and bassoon as well as double-reed auxiliary instruments such as the English horn and contrabassoon. He also appreciates the work of the performers to bring the piece to life.

This performance marked the first appearance of “Zugzwang” at an IDRS conference, Dempster said. He has had several other works performed at pervious IDRS conferences, generally for bassoon alone or chamber music featuring the bassoon.

To learn more about IDRS, visit https://www.idrs.org/.

Much has changed about ASMSA during its three decades of existence. Students once lived in a former hospital converted into residential space until the Student Center opened in August 2012. The school joined the University of Arkansas System in 2004. The campus’ first new academic building opened in 2019. An arts and music program has bloomed in the last decade.

But there has been one constant at ASMSA from the day it opened — Ernestine Ross.

Ross serves as a member of the Humanities Department faculty, primarily as a speech, psychology and sociology instructor. She has degrees in counseling and mental health counseling, so her current courses now reflect her interests in helping students better understand how the mind works.

Four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students are using special opportunities this summer and over the next school year to expand their language capabilities and explore new cultures.

Three students — two recent Class of 2024 graduates and one member of the Class of 2026 — will travel abroad during the summer for language and culture immersion programs sponsored by the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). The fourth student will spend a full academic year in Germany through the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition in 2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regional competition.

Olivia Busby, Elisa Guess and Maddox Jessup earned regional Gold Keys for their competition submissions. Busby received a Gold Key for a digital art piece titled “Sheet Over the Flowers.” Guess received a Gold Key for a poem, “For Moon.” Jessup earned a Gold Key for her poem “Girlhood.” Jessup also earned Honorable Mention recognition for a second poem, “Seasons of Love.”

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. It is among the nation’s most prestigious program for creative teams. Previous award-winners during the competition’s history include Andy Warhol, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Tschabalala Self and others.

Other students who earned recognition include:

• Ella Campbell, Silver Key for her portfolio of visual arts pieces titled “Life in Color”;
• Jaime Hernandez, Silver Key for “Seven Dollars and Seventy-Six Cents,” a short story;
• Kuhno Lee, Silver Key for “The Black Box,” a flash fiction piece;
• Hailey Judkins, Honorable Mention for “54,” a poem; and
• Kayla Long, Honorable Mention for “The Birds of Christmas,” an adapted screenplay of a short story.

To learn more about the competition, visit www.artandwriting.org.

Eight students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts have been selected as QuestBridge College Prep Scholars.

The program provides high-achieving high school juniors from low-income backgrounds tools to help them apply to top colleges across the nation. QuestBridge provides resources such as full scholarships to college summer programs, college prep and scholarship application guidance, a community of supportive peers and other specialized resources to help the scholars get a free head start on the college application process. As seniors, students may apply for QuestBridge’s National College Match program, which connects them with top colleges and universities that offer full-ride scholarships.

ASMSA students selected as 2024 QuestBridge College Prep Scholars are:

• Karilynn Arellano of Mineral Springs;
• Damian Biggs of Washington County;
• Morgan Broadway of Mablevale;
• Jaime Hernandez of Decatur;
• Maddox Jessup of Ulm;
• Katherine Quintanilla of Nashville;
• Zeke Summers of Paragould; and
• Plinio Tola of Little Rock.