Author: Donnie Sewell

Arkansas students and parents seeking choices for high-quality educational opportunities will have an exciting new option this fall through the ASMSA Online Academy.

The ASMSA Online Academy is a full-time online program offered by the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA). It will provide a robust curriculum focused around Advanced Placement (AP) courses that emphasizes the humanities, critical thinking and STEM topics while meeting state graduation requirements.

Students enrolled in the ASMSA Online Academy will complete a thoughtfully curated sequence of AP courses over two years, generally as high school juniors and seniors although younger students who demonstrate academic readiness may apply. Students who complete the program are positioned to earn the AP Capstone Diploma and be positioned for AP Scholar designation

The annual tuition for the ASMSA Online Academy is $5,000, pending final authorization by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees in May. Families may use the state’s Educational Freedom Accounts (EFA), which were established through the Arkansas LEARNS Act, to cover tuition, ensuring there are no net costs for enrollment in the program. This approach ensures families have access to top-tier coursework while still preserving additional EFA funds to cover technology, enrichment programs or other approved needs.

Applications for the program are now open, and the priority application deadline is June 1. The program is open to all students in Arkansas, but they must have completed foundational math courses — including Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry — before enrolling in the ASMSA Online Academy. Students will also need access to a reliable computer or laptop with a stable internet connection.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts won the school trophy and two students were recognized among the best projects in the state at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair.

Junior Miranda Lee of Conway won second place in the Best in State Individual Awards, and junior Anna Le of Fort Smith placed third in the Best in State Individual Awards. Their placement in the state competition qualified them to compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held May 10-16 in Columbus, Ohio.

They will join four other ASMSA students — seniors Kolten Shook of North Little Rock, senior Lukas Bowler of Hot Springs, senior Carmella Lewis of Alma, and senior Christine Dunning of Clarksville — who earned the opportunity to compete at ISEF at the West Central Regional Science Fair held at ASMSA in February. ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition. Students from around the world are expected to compete for awards, prizes and scholarships.

The school trophy winner is determined by the number of points each school accumulates based on their place award winners divided by the total number of projects entered in the state science fair. The Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair was held April 4-5 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students earned recognition in the Arts Across Arkansas 2025 competition, including students sweeping all three places in one category.

ASMSA students took first-, second-, and third-places in the Music Composition category. Students also placed in the Literary Arts, Film and Visual Arts categories. The event included exhibitions and performances by the more than 40 students selected as finalists, including 23 ASMSA students. Awards were announced on March 29 during a ceremony at Westwood School for Performing Arts in North Little Rock.

Students who earned recognition were:

Music Composition

• Faith Wesley, a junior from Hot Springs, first place, “Paraclete”
• Bryce Jackson, a junior from Salem, second place, “Paris 1944”
• Matthew Carter, a junior from Hot Springs, third place, “Goku”

Literary Arts

• Halie Cook, a junior from Pine Bluff, first place, “Dollar Store Collar”
• Saylor Ross, a senior from Crossett, third place, “Homecoming Queen”

Film

• Makenna Kutzschebauch, a junior from Benton, second place, “Dead Women Walking”
• Jamie Hernandez, a senior from Decatur, third place, “Spring”

Visual Arts

• Coley Rogers, a junior from Cherokee Village, second place, “Self Portrait”

Arts Across Arkansas is a program that aims to encourage, enhance and expand students’ original thoughts, processes, personal experiences and artistic abilities, according to the program’s website. It is sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

The competition features competition in six categories: Visual Arts, Dance Choreography, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography. ASMSA students were selected as finalists in the Visual Arts, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Science Olympiad team placed second in the Northeast Regional Tournament held at Arkansas State University at Newport on March 15.

The team’s finish secured a berth into the state competition that will be held on April 12 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Science Olympiad is a nationwide organization dedicated to promoting science education through conducting competitive science tournaments.

Dr. Burt Hollandsworth, a chemistry Instructor of Distinction who serves as the team’s adviser, credited two students — Michelle Li of Sherwood and Aarush Goyal of Little Rock — for forming the team after previously competing on teams at their sending schools. The two are co-presidents of the team with Li also serving as a coach.

Several students earned individual recognition during the competition, including:
• the team of Kemdi Ekeanyanwu of Little Rock and Collisa Bucknor of Little Rock, second place, Anatomy and Physiology;
• the team of Aarush Goyal and Kaiyan Yu of Benton, first place, Chemistry; and
• the team of Donovan Hurarte of Little Rock and Winston Wang of Hope, second place, Ecology.

Other team members are Anna Le of Fort Smith, Aum Patel of Bryant and Tatum Polzin of Little Rock.

The Community Gardens at the City of Hope Outreach in Conway serve multiple purposes. They are a source of nutritious fruits and vegetables for the organization’s nutrition program, including its Small Market that provides food and other supplies for food-insecure, homeless and low-income individuals and families.

It is a classroom gardening experience for students who participate in CoHO Academy, the organization’s after-school program. Participants help grow food in the gardens from seed to harvest to table as part of the academy’s STEM, nutrition and personal development curriculum.

The gardens are home to various wildlife, including birds, bees, butterflies, frogs and toads. Students in the program crafted toad houses to encourage the amphibians to settle in the gardens to help control pests.

In July 2024, the National Wildlife Federation announced that it had designated the gardens as a Certified Wildlife Habitat through its Garden for Wildlife movement.

The designation was thanks in part to the work of Lana Thurman, who graduated from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in 2017. Thurman joined CoHO as nutrition director in February 2023. In August 2023, she became an academy instructor, teaching STEM concepts through gardening and nutrition to kindergarten through eighth-graders in the academy.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts choir ensembles have earned eligibility to compete at the Arkansas Choral Directors Association Class 3A State Festival.

The ensembles competed at the Region 3 Choral Performance Assessment held at Hot Springs Lakeside on March 7. Sonar Sounds, ASMSA’s tenor/bass ensemble, earned Division I Superior scores for both its stage and sight reading performances. Echo Sounds, the mixed chorus, earned a Division 2R Excellent grade for its stage performance and Division 1 Superior for sight reading. Aqua Harmonia, the soprano/alto treble ensemble, earned a Division 2R Superior rating for its stage performance and a Division 2 Excellent score for sight reading.

All groups who score a 2R or Superior rating for their stage performance are eligible for State Festival, where they will compete for the Class 3A “Best in Class” title. Aqua Harmonia will be defending its 2024 state title as “Best in Class Small Treble Chorus 3A” and “Overall Best in Class 3A Chorus” title.

The Class 3A state competition will be held on Monday, April 7, at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Twenty-three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students have been selected as Arts Across Arkansas 2025 finalists, including one student who qualified in three separate categories.

Arts Across Arkansas is a program that aims to encourage, enhance and expand students’ original thoughts, processes, personal experiences and artistic abilities, according to the program’s website. It is sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

The competition features competition in six categories: Visual Arts, Dance Choreography, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography. ASMSA students were selected as finalists in the Visual Arts, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography. Senior Jaime Hernandez is a finalist in the Visual Arts, Film and Literary Arts categories.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Quiz Bowl team took first place in the Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl Association Class 7A West Regional Tournament.

The team went undefeated in the regional tournament, which was held March 15 on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus. ASMSA qualified for the Class 7A State Tournament, which will be held April 12.

Junior Jacob Lewis of Clinton was the second-highest scorer in the regional tournament followed by junior Ridgely Bond of Marion who was third. Both qualified for the State All-Star Tournament that will be held in April.

For more information about the tournaments, visit the association’s website at https://arquizbowl.org/.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2025 Arkansas High School Model Arab League Conference.

Model Arab League is the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ flagship youth leadership development program. It is similar to the Model United Nations program. This year’s Arkansas high school conference was held March 7-8 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Twenty-nine ASMSA students participated in the conference. Five students earned recognition for their participation, including:

• Tristan Henson, a junior from Maumelle, Outstanding Delegation Award, representing Libya on the Special Council on Technology and Development;
  • Nathan Harbut, a junior from Hot Springs, Distinguished Delegation Award, representing Libya on the Economic Affairs Council;
  • Maddox Jessup, a senior from Stuttgart, Distinguished Delegation Award, for representing Syria on the Special Council on Technology and Development;
  • Lycci Pan, a senior from Jonesboro, Distinguished Delegation Award, for representing Syria on the Political Affairs Council; and
  • Nakoa Beattie, a junior from Eureka Springs, Honorable Mention Award, for representing Libya on the Political Affairs Council.

Twenty-four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2025 District IV Spring Conference competition, and a record number of 36 students will be eligible to compete at the state competition.

The District IV conference was held Feb. 5 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope/Texarkana in Hope. The students participated in competitive events that were either an objective subject test, performance or presentation, or a combination of an objective test and a performance component.

Students who placed in the top six in objective test competitions or top five in a performance or presentation event at the district qualified to compete in the state competition, which will be held April 7-8 in Little Rock. In addition to the 24 students who qualified at the district competition, 12 students also are set to compete in the state competition in categories that are only held at the state conference.

Students who earned recognition at the District IV competition and are eligible to compete at the state competition include: