The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts is marking the successful completion this summer of its 2025 Strategic Plan that has guided the institution through a time in the school’s history that has been defined by transformational progress, perseverance in the face of global challenges and changes in Arkansas’ own educational landscape.
Titled “Sparking Innovation, Igniting Growth,” the strategic plan served as a guide to create greater educational access, expand academic vigor and promote statewide equity to benefit all Arkansans through its residential, out-of-school enrichment, digital learning and educator development programs.
While discussions began in late 2019, the plan was finalized midway through 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty of the times helped focus discussions about the school’s pathway forward to not only find immediate solutions to those challenges but strive also to grow and adapt as necessary. A shifting educational landscape in Arkansas with the passage of the LEARNS Act in 2023 and the ACCESS Act in 2025 that highlighted expanded school choice options and an accelerated learning environment offered new challenges for all secondary institutions. The 2025 Strategic Plan placed ASMSA in a favorable position to respond to those changes.
“Strategic planning is supposed to be more than a bureaucratic exercise—it is a declaration of purpose, a statement of values and a vision for the future,” Executive Director Corey Alderdice said in the summary report. “The 2025 Plan, first drafted in early 2020, became all of that and more. What followed were five years marked by innovation and resilience. We held fast to our mission while adapting to new realities.
“These accomplishments were not the work of any one person. They are the result of dedicated faculty and staff, supportive families, engaged alumni, invested partners and (above all) curious, capable students who remind us every day why this school matters.”
The 2025 Strategic Plan provided five areas of focus to guide ASMSA’s community of learners, educators, families and partners through a shared vision of growth, innovation and excellence. They included Teaching and Learning, Student Development, Enrollment Growth, Advocacy and Partnerships and Facilities Expansion.
The school made extraordinary progress that not only strengthened ASMSA itself but also positioned it as an essential driver of innovation and excellence across Arkansas. Among the achievements were:
- Leading the way in accelerated learning by deepening and diversifying pathways for Arkansas’ most motivated students. Those efforts included expanding the Sophomore Early Entrance program, creation of the HELIX Prep Academy for underrepresented students and integrating rigorous Advanced Placement options through the new Online Academy that directly aligns with the state’s new emphasis on early college experiences under the ACCESS Act.
- Fully realizing the school's dual STEM and arts mission through the launch and growth of the Visual Arts and Design Program of Distinction (POD), new investments in the music program, which serves one-fourth of the student body, and visual arts as well as the development of a Music POD that begins in Fall 2025. Students have also earned recognition in state and national art, film, music and literature competitions that reveal successful practical applications of concepts and skills learned in coursework.
- A new era of student wellness and support that placed an unprecedented emphasis on mental health, wellness and social-emotional learning. The efforts included permanently funding a mental health-professional on campus, enhancing group and summer programming, launching a campus-wide Student Development Curriculum and renovating facilities to include a mental health hub and community spaces.
- Transforming campus for the future through projects such as the Selig Hall renovation, construction of the new Campus Administration Building, funding a new maintenance building and woodshop, and coordinating an exit from the former St. Joseph Hospital complex. The projects increased residential capacity; modernized student, administrative and operational spaces; and paved the way for future aspirations in the hospital complex footprint. The school is readying a 2033 Facilities Plan to be released this fall which will keep momentum moving forward on the campus’ physical transformation.
- Amplifying ASMSA’s statewide role and impact on education through record participation in STEM Pathways and innovative outreach programs such as ASMSA-TIP that impacts more than 6,000 students, parents and educators annually. ASMSA has strengthened partnerships with universities and cultural institutions that have allowed students to participate in hands-on research laboratories and internship opportunities as well as becoming immersed in cultural studies both here and abroad. A 2023 Economic and Social Impact Study revealed that ASMSA had a total impact of $104.4 million in the State of Arkansas, which is 122 percent above the state’s base investment in the school, and $98.4 million in Garland County, more than 109 percent greater than the base funding, over a five-year period.
“As we look ahead, I remain confident in ASMSA’s continued leadership in public education,” Alderdice said. “While the next strategic plan will be shaped by new voices and fresh ideas, it will no doubt carry forward the same spirit that has defined this place from the beginning: one of excellence, innovation and a deep belief in the power of education to ignite Arkansas’ potential.”
A digital version of the final report may be found at asmsa.me/finalreport25.