Author: Donnie Sewell

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts was one of only six high schools statewide recognized by the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science for its computer science program.

ASMSA received Bronze level recognition for the first year of the Computer Science Gold Medal School Program which included the 2020-21 academic year. The initiative, announced in the fall of 2020, is designed to recognize Arkansas high schools for outstanding work in supporting and implementing the Arkansas Computer Science and Computing Initiative. Schools were ranked on rubrics centered on criteria from Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s five-year computer science education goals and the recommendations of the 2020 Arkansas Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force.

A $10,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas will help the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts promote increased access for female students to pursue opportunities in high school computer science.

With the grant from the WFA, ASMSA will host an Equity in Computer Science Summit for school districts across the state in 2022. The new program will intentionally focus on strategies and provide tools to teams of educators to increase female student enrollment within computer science, helping provide them a path from college to career.

Samia Ismail, a 2016 Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts alumna and a recent University of Arkansas alumna was named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, the world’s most prestigious scholarship to complete post-graduate study in the United Kingdom.

Ismail graduated summa cum laude in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a minor in Arabic. Ismail was a Harry S. Truman Scholars, which recognized her as one of the top future public servants in the nation.

Eleven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating proficiency in English and at least one other language before graduating high school.

The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is awarded each spring and fall to students in ninth through 12th grades and is sponsored by the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and the Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The Arkansas Department of Education officially endorsed the seal in June 2018.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Robotics team earned recognition in two recent competitions, including the top robot design award at both events.

The team competed in the VEX Robotics Competition held Nov. 6 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The team earned the Design Award for demonstrating the ability to implement the most effective and efficient robot design process.

A script that an Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts alumna wrote while a student at the school received recognition in the recent Austin Comedy Film Festival Fall 2021.

A screenplay by Janie Gentry, a member of the Class of 2021, was selected as a finalist for the Best Comedy Feature Screenplay Award at the festival held last week. Gentry wrote “BEST IN CLA.S.S.” for her Creative Writing capstone.

Eleven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors have been selected as 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.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts band recently released its concert schedule for the 2021-22 school year.

The ASMSA Wind Ensemble will hold its first performance of the school year at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28. The concert will be held in the Creativity and Innovation Center on campus. Admission is free. Masks are required on campus. It will also be broadcast live via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/armathsciarts.

Thursday’s concert will include performances of:

• Prelude and Fugue in Bb Major (BWV 553), attributed to J.S. Bach / arranged by Moehlmann;
• Ouachita by Julie Giroux;
• Prelude on a Gregorian Tune by David Maslanka; and
• Chorale and Shaker Dance by John Zdechlik.

The rest of the concert schedule includes:

• Chamber Ensembles, 7 p.m. Nov. 17;
• Jazz Band and Combos, 7 p.m., Nov. 30;
• Wind Ensemble, 7 p.m., Dec. 8;
• Wind Ensemble, 7 p.m., March 3, 2022;
• Chamber Ensembles, 7 p.m., March 15, 2022;
• Chamber Ensembles, 7 p.m., April 12, 2022 (tentative);
• Wind Ensemble, 7 p.m., April 30 (date may change); and
• Jazz Band and Combos, 7 p.m., May 9, 2022.

The band is led by Dr. Thomas Dempster, music instructor and instrumental ensembles director.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts STEM Pathways initiative set an enrollment record this year, serving more than 2,000 students across the state in its Computer Science Plus and Advanced Biology Plus cohorts.

There are 1,678 computer science students statewide enrolled in this year’s Coding Arkansas’ Future cohorts. Those numbers represent about 15 percent of the statewide computer science enrollment. This year’s cohorts includes 51 teachers in the Computer Science Plus Year 1 program and 27 teachers in Computer Science Plus Year 2. The Advanced Biology Plus program is serving 439 students and 43 teachers statewide.