February 26, 2025
To the Members of ASMSA’s Community of Learning:
As educators celebrate Gifted Education Week in Arkansas in February and ready for the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) annual conference in early March, I think it’s important to share two key developments that will shape opportunities for talented and motivated students across the state in the coming year.
One of the lesser-known elements of the LEARNS Act, passed in 2023, is Course Choice. This program allows students in schools rated C, D, or F which make up 70% of all high schools in Arkansas to take online courses of their choice at no cost, with their district covering the expense. Students in A- and B-rated schools are also eligible if a desired course is not available at their high school. In our experience, we have found that many educators and families are not aware of this new provision.
This initiative opens doors for students to explore advanced coursework, less commonly taught languages, specialized electives, and additional college-level options beyond what their schools may offer. It’s an important step in ensuring all students have access to the learning opportunities they need to thrive.
Earlier this month, Governor Sanders announced Arkansas ACCESS, a new higher education initiative following the LEARNS Act that will soon be reviewed by the Arkansas General Assembly. A central focus of ACCESS is acceleration, and we’re encouraged that Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva has highlighted how Arkansas’ most talented students are often among the most underserved.
The proposed legislation aims to expand “accelerated learning” beyond Advanced Placement to include International Baccalaureate, Cambridge assessments, concurrent college enrollment, and other pathways. While the bill adjusts some current funding structures, it also challenges districts to ensure these opportunities remain accessible to all students striving for higher-level learning by underwriting the costs.
These initiatives mark an exciting moment for gifted education in Arkansas, and I personally encourage you to stay engaged as they develop. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to supporting our state’s brightest students your work is critical in helping them reach their full potential.
Sincerely,
Corey Alderdice Executive Director
Office of the Executive Director
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Corey Alderdice, ASMSA
Director
By the Numbers
• A 1927 time capsule located in the St. Joseph Hospital Complex’s cornerstone was opened by CHI St. Vincent staff during a special ceremony in December.
• 18 student musicians were named All-Region. 6 students were named All-State musicians.
• ASMSA’s 31st Commencement Ceremony honoring the Class of 2025 will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 2 p.m. at the Oaklawn Event Center in Hot Springs.
ACCESS Legislation and Potential Impacts on ASMSA
Earlier this month, Governor Sanders, Sen. Dismang, Rep. Shepherd, and Sec. Oliva introduced the Arkansas ACCESS legislation. Much like the LEARNS Act of 2023 reshaped key aspects of K-12 education, ACCESS proposes a range of changes for higher education. University of Arkansas System leadership took part in a 90-minute discussion prior to the official announcement with the Governor, Rep. Shepherd, Sec. Oliva, and Dr. Ken Warden, Commissioner of ADHE. This informal conversation provided insights into the goals of the legislation and the reasoning behind the topics it seeks to address.
One of the most significant elements of the proposal, particularly for ASMSA, is the emphasis on acceleration represented by the “A” in ACCESS. When Sec. Oliva visited campus in December, he made a point to say, “Our most advanced students are often some of our most underserved.” He reinforced that message in conversations around the bill, specifically highlighting ASMSA’s work in this area as an example of what is possible when schools commit to providing high-achieving students with meaningful challenges.
HB1512 was filed on February 17th. At 122 pages, it covers a broad range of topics, including a significant portion about one-third devoted to K-12 education. A key point of concern is the removal of major financial supports that have historically made advanced learning opportunities accessible to students across the state.
Perhaps the most immediate financial impact for ASMSA comes from sweeping changes to concurrent credit programs. These adjustments are projected to increase ASMSA’s costs next year between $250,000 and $325,000. The bill eliminates the Concurrent Challenge Scholarship, imposes a uniform tuition rate higher than our current agreement with UAFS, shifts from a percourse to a per-credit-hour cost structure, and places the full financial burden of concurrent enrollment on schools and districts.
While these changes will affect public schools in different ways, ASMSA’s extensive concurrent credit offerings make the financial implications particularly severe. What’s most frustrating is that ASMSA is one of the few institutions in the state that already has both the capacity and desire to meet the acceleration goals outlined in the legislation, including offering Associate degrees for high school students. Yet, rather than expanding opportunities, the bill seems to add financial obstacles that could limit access.
While less impactful to the residential experience, another major shift is the elimination of funding for Advanced Placement (AP) programs. This could have implications on the STEM Pathways Program as well as future ASMSA online learning initiatives. The bill removes the $650 grant that covers the cost of AP Summer Institutes, which serve as the primary pathway for teachers to become AP-certified. This loss not only impacts educators but also reduces revenue for institutions like UA-Fayetteville and UA-Little Rock, which host these training programs. Additionally, the bill eliminates the state’s commitment to covering the cost of AP exams for students enrolled in AP courses. While a $99 exam fee may not be an issue for some families, it will undoubtedly create barriers for others, leaving districts to decide whether to absorb the costs or risk lower participation in these important college-prep courses.
Director Alderdice has participated in ongoing Zoom meetings with higher education leaders across the state and another with legislative liaisons for the UA System. Several concerns and potential revisions were raised during these discussions, but it remains unclear if amendments might be made. The bill is expected to begin making its way through the legislative process in early March.
95th Arkansas General Assembly
The University of Arkansas System appropriation bill became Act 193 on February 25th. The bill includes ASMSA’s appropriation as well as our employee lines for the upcoming fiscal year.
ASMSA has explored conversations with both ADE as well as the Governor’s staff on pursuing amendments to the school’s enabling legislation that would allow for enrollment growth funding. Rather than seeking additional funding for enrollment growth, the Arkansas Department of Education has introduced an alternative discussion about allocating some annual funding for ASMSA’s capital needs. We are still working to gather more details on how this funding would be structured, but given the ongoing importance of facilities improvements, we’ll welcome progress in any form if it is offered this session.
One other legislative item we continue to explore is a provision that would allow ASMSA to charge tuition for online coursework, particularly for students enrolled in fully online programs through Educational Freedom Accounts (EFA) as well as those taking individual courses through the new Course Choice System. We anticipate that bill will be filed in early March.
Campus leadership and University of Arkansas System officials continue to monitor a variety of bills related to K-12 and higher education that have potential impacts on ASMSA.
Facilities and Campus Master Planning
Work continues on the 2033 Facilities Plan, which is designed to establish a broad roadmap for the continued redevelopment of campus over the coming decade. The project highlights the capital progress achieved since 2010, transitional projects such as the Maintenance Shop and Fitness Center, the Arts Zone of campus in the former hospital footprint, and potential future projects and locations beyond the initial scope of the 10-year plan. ASMSA will also be working with Taylor Kempkes Architects to refine the concepts previously developed for the Visual Arts
and Performing Arts buildings. These concepts were originally commissioned by local philanthropists to open discussions on a downtown performing arts center.
A campus planning committee is working closely with Architecture Plus on the design phase of the Maintenance Shop. The estimated completion date for the project is late spring 2026.
Dr. Morris continues to facilitate conversations with a campus working group on a potential 6,000 square foot Fitness Center. The facility is envisioned as a type of “third space” beyond where students live and learn. In addition to traditional cardio and weight equipment, the space would include an indoor walking track, large club room, dance/yoga studio, a formal e-sports lab, game tables, and outdoor gathering spaces. The project would also include transforming the open lot at the back of campus into New Charter Field. This plan would restore an on-campus green-/play-space with outdoor lighting.
Campus operations staff have reached material completion on the exit of the St. Joseph Hospital complex. M&R has picked up all cataloged items in accordance with state policies. A few items need to be relocated to the existing maintenance sheds; however, we are awaiting exit of that space by the City of Hot Springs. Once those final transitional elements are completed, ASMSA will formally “hand over” the complex. That point starts the clock on the abatement and demolition of the facility, which is estimated to take 30 months to complete.
New UA System President Visits Campus
ASMSA welcomed University of Arkansas System President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jay Silveria to campus for his first visit to the Hot Springs campus on Feb. 4th. Silveria was chosen to lead the UA System in November after longtime President Donald R. Bobbitt announced his retirement last summer. Silveria began his tenure on Jan. 15th. During his time at ASMSA, Silveria visited with Executive Director Corey Alderdice as well as a group of constituents that included faculty and staff members, parents, and members of the ASMSA Board of Visitors. He also participated in a campus tour led by a group of Student Ambassadors.
Silveria is planning to visit each of the UA System’s 21 campuses and units this semester. ASMSA was the first stop of his tour. During his visit with campus constituents, Silveria touted the System’s focus on two most important aspects student access and success.
“If we’re not involved in creating student success and creating student access, then what is our role? What are we doing?” Silveria said. “The fact that those two are priorities for the System is really the major reason that drew me here. I’m privileged to be a part of it.”
Silveria said it is important to find ways to better integrate ASMSA into the System. While that will take ASMSA sharing ideas with him on how to do that, it is also important for the other System members to better understand what the school and its students have to offer. After his visit, Silveria said that it was obvious how deeply the ASMSA’s faculty and staff care for the institution.
“That is evidenced by the students I spent time with how much they could talk about how the faculty and staff care about them. It was story after story about so-and-so did this for me and soand-so did that for me. It’s so obvious that everyone really cares,” Silveria said.
Senior Selected as Coca-Cola Scholarship Recipient
Kelvin Orduna, a senior from Huntsville, has been selected as a Coca-Cola Scholars-Select. The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, a joint effort by The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola bottlers across the country to create the largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program in the United States, according to a release announcing the 2025 recipients. This is the 37th year of program. This year’s program recognized 150 high school seniors nationwide who each will receive a $20,000 college scholarship. This year’s recipients were selected from a pool of more than 105,000 applications. Coca-Cola Scholars-Select will attend a Coca-Cola Scholars Weekend in Atlanta in early April where they will participate in the Coca-Cola Scholars Leadership Development Institute.
Record 6 Students receive Questbridge National College Match Scholarships
Six ASMSA seniors received full-ride scholarship offers in the 2024 QuestBridge National College Match Program. The students who received matches include: Jaime Hernandez Perez of Decatur, Brown University; Hailey Judkins of Benton, College of the Holy Cross; Sarah Pham of Hot Springs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Katherine Quintanilla of Nashville, University of Pennsylvania; Ezekiel Summers of Paragould, Johns Hopkins University; and Plinio Tola of Little Rock, Wesleyan University.
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 organization partnered this year with 52 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Columbia University, Yale, and others. Students apply for the scholarships through QuestBridge’s free National College Match application. They may list up to 15 of the partner schools at which they would like to be considered for admission.
Match Scholarship recipients are granted early admission to one of QuestBridge's college partners with a full four-year scholarship, worth more than $200,000. The Match Scholarship is offered as part of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses. All Match Scholarship packages have no parental contribution or student loans. This year’s Match Scholarship recipients were chosen from more than 25,500 applicants, including 7,288 Finalists. From the Finalists, 2,627 were matched with college partners, the largest number in QuestBridge’s history.
ASMSA Instructor Earns National Teaching Award
Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, a life sciences Instructor of Excellence at ASMSA, has been named a Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) recipient. The award recognizes outstanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to professional development, innovative teaching
techniques, and technology in their classroom. The program is conducted by the National Science Foundation on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. A national committee of scientists, mathematicians, and educators review the applications and recommend teachers to receive the award. Winners are chosen from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. territories, and schools operated in the United States and overseas by the Department of Defense Education Activity. Krakowiak was named a state finalist in the science category for grades 7-12 in both 2021 and 2023. She was named a recipient for the 2021 award on Jan. 13, 2025, after the announcement for those awards had been delayed.
STEM Pathways Continues to serve as Statewide Educational Resource
The STEM Pathways program continues to serve as an important resource for students and educators across the state for the 2024-25 academic year.
The hybrid online learning and teacher professional development program is serving 3,645 students and 93 teachers across the state through its Computer Science Plus, Advance Biology Plus and Advanced Statistics Plus cohorts. The Computer Science Plus Program is serving more than 3,000 students and 50 teachers statewide alone. The Advanced Biology Plus program is serving 558 students and 38 teachers, an increase over the 2023-24 academic year. There are 40 students and five educators enrolled in the Advanced Statistics Plus program, which is in its third year of a pilot program.
The STEM Pathways program began in 2015 with the creation of the Coding Arkansas’ Future initiative. That program offered high schools across the state the opportunity to expand their computer science curriculum while receiving guidance and professional development from ASMSA staff members. While ASMSA instructors taught some computer science courses for schools through digital learning, the main emphasis was preparing educators to gain licensure in computer science through the Computer Science Plus program.
That includes offering summer boot camps to introduce teachers to computer science. Those teachers receive guidance throughout the school year from ASMSA, including continuing professional development through weekly video meetings and a follow-up camp at the conclusion of the academic year. The goal is to prepare those educators to earn their license to teach computer science while also becoming the primary computer science teacher at their school.
The program expanded in recent years to offer a middle school coding block and the Advanced Biology Plus program. In the Advanced Biology Plus program, instructors around the state receive professional development from ASMSA’s life science specialists in the instruction of AP Biology. ASMSA’s biology teachers guide camps prior to the beginning of the school year. They then help educators prepare their curriculum for the year and provide unique lab learning activities that the individual schools may not be able to offer otherwise.
The program expanded again in 2022 with the addition of the Advanced Statistics Plus program, providing mathematics educators with instructional assistance and curriculum guidance for statistics students. STEM Pathways is made possible in part by an annual grant from the Arkansas Department of Education.
Four Seniors Earn Thea Foundation Contest Scholarships
Four ASMSA students were selected as winners in the 2024/2025 Thea Foundation Scholarship Competition. Seniors Olivia Busby of Heber Springs, Hannah Dalencourt-King of Poplar Grove, AB Maness of Benton, and Jaime Hernandez Perez of Decatur were awarded $3,000 scholarships for their entries in the competition.
More than 300 students from across Arkansas entered the competition for a chance at part of $219,000 in scholarships, according to the foundation’s website. Thirty-six students in five different categories were awarded scholarships. ASMSA’s students were recognized in the Visual Arts category with Dalencourt-King placing seventh, Busby placing eighth, Maness taking ninth-place, and Hernandez Perez placing 10th .
Other categories in which awards were announced included Performing Arts, Creative Writing, Film and Fashion. The annual competitions are for Arkansas graduating high school seniors. The organization’s first scholarship was awarded in 2002. The program is now endowed and has awarded more than $2.8 million in scholarships to Arkansas students, according to its website.
Liachenko Named U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate
Madeline Liachenko, a senior from Benton, has been recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate. The U.S. Presidential Scholars program is considered one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. It was established in 1964 by executive order of the president to recognize and honor some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars’ review committee selects honored scholars annually based on their academic success, personal characteristics, leadership, and service activities, in addition to the quality and content of their essays. Liachenko was among almost 90 Arkansas students selected as candidates this year. Each year, more than 4,000 candidates are identified for the component of the program that focuses on academic achievement as well as having scored exceptionally well on the SAT or the ACT. Eligible students are U.S. citizens and legal permanent U.S. residents who will graduate or receive their high school diploma between January and August of the current program year and have taken the ACT or SAT assessment on or before October of the previous year.
Lowe Selected for CALS Art Exhibit
A piece by senior Preston Lowe has been accepted into an exhibit for young artists sponsored by the Central Arkansas Library System. Lowe’s piece “Afro Daze” will be included in the “Imagining Black Futures: Young Artists Envision Afrofuturism” exhibition, which invites young artists in the ninth through 12th grades “to explore themes of Black identity, autonomy, and liberation through the lens of Afrofuturism,” according to the system’s website. The exhibition will include paintings, finished ink/pastel/multimedia drawings, printmaking, photography, videography, fiber and textile art, jewelry and sculpture. It will be displayed at CALS Mini Main Library from Feb. 15th through May 17th.
Academic Affairs
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Stuart Flynn, Dean of Academic Affairs
The story of the 2025 Spring Semester, so far, may be the inclement weather and the worst flu outbreak in many years. After two days of professional development, ASMSA began Spring Semester classes on Monday, January 6th. Winter weather arrived just a few days later, causing two days of campus closure, and just a week after that, we started to see a high rate of flu diagnoses among students, faculty, and staff. As the calendar moved into late January and early February, the flu spread increased, resulting in long-term absences for many people in our campus community. And we lost another day-and-a-half on February 18th and 19th. The time off campus for winter weather and for illness has required adjustments to the pace of content delivery, creative reorganization, and extra hours to get students caught up on coursework. Now that February draws to a close, we seem to have seen the worst of the flu season, hopefully, snow and ice as well, and most of our students are back on pace as we near the end of the 3rd quarter grading period on March 7th and grade reports on March 10th.
By the Numbers
• Four National Merit Scholarship finalists
• Thirty-three qualifiers for the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship.
• Nine creative writing students recognized in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
• Nine art students recognized in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Science Fair
On February 27th and 28th , ASMSA hosted the West Central Regional Science Fair. Science Fair represents the culmination of our STEM students’ research projects, many of which go back a year or more in their origination. Students competed for fifteen special awards and sixteen category awards: Animal Science, Behavioral and Social Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Systems Software, Earth Science, Engineering: Electrical & Mechanical, Engineering: Materials & Bioengineering, Environmental Management, Environmental Science, Math, Medicine & Health Sciences, Microbiology, Physics/Astronomy, and Plant Science.
New Academic Initiatives
Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, ASMSA students will have the opportunity to earn Associate of Arts degrees through a partnership with the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (UAFS). This agreement is an extension of the concurrent enrollment relationship between ASMSA and UAFS. We will start by offering Economics for concurrent credit this summer. In addition to this new pathway for ASMSA students, ASMSA will soon launch our AP Virtual Academy. The formal announcement will come March 1st, and we will start admitting the first cohort later this Spring. For many years, ASMSA’s Office of Distance Education was the state’s leader in online learning, and currently, our STEM Pathways program guides teachers across the
state in Biology, Computer Science, and Math, so it is fitting that ASMSA expands programming to reach other Arkansas students.
ACT Prep Program
Math Department faculty have offered ACT Math prep sessions going back to last summer, and they continued to offer those sessions through the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. This Spring, we added ACT English and Reading prep sessions. For many years, ASMSA staff and faculty have administered the ACT to our students, and those tests are now managed by our Scholar Development Coordinator and our Standardized Testing Coordinator. We have prioritized our testing process to make it as efficient as possible while guiding students through the registration process and the process for requesting testing accommodations through ACT. As we continue to emphasize the importance of the test, it is crucial that all of our students have easy access to the best possible test prep opportunities. With that in mind, over the next several months, we will begin meetings to formalize our test prep sessions to cover every section on the ACT, and to arrange a testing prep schedule that we will publish on the ASMSA school calendar We plan to complete the planning in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Office of Student Life
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Rheo Morris, Ph.D., Dean of Students
The ASMSA Office of Student Life has remained vigilant in our fight against Influenza community spread. The staff and students are geared up for Prom and all the excitement that entails.
By the Numbers
● The Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Masters Social Worker have conducted two hundred and fifty-three individual counseling sessions for the months of December and January, 6 crisis interventions, and had 5 group therapy sessions.
● 63 students participated in SLAMT competitions at LSMSA in Natchitoches, LA.
● ASMSA Residence Life staff and students completed more than 400 hours of community service on MLK Jr. Day.
Mental Health Hub
In the month of December, the Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Master’s Social Worker conducted 130 individual counseling sessions, 2 group therapy sessions, and 5 crisis interventions. They conducted 123 individual counseling sessions and 3 group sessions, and 1 crisis intervention in the month of January.
This is the final stretch for our seniors which has caused the focus to be around burnout and motivation. There has also been an uptick of students who are now considered adults (18) deciding to stop their medications.
Programming
The focus for programming in December was Social Awareness which included empathy, compassion and kindness. Some floor activities included celebrating holidays around the world. There was also our Late-Night Breakfast before the students went home for the break.
The programming for January focused on Self-Management where floors were taught about zero-based budgeting. RECs shared different phone apps that can be used to help students maintain a budget. Students also got to discuss the pros and cons of credit cards
Despite the extremely cold weather on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, staff and students completed over 400 hours of service hours throughout the Hot Springs and Hot Springs Village communities. Students volunteered at Hot Springs National Park, Whittington Park, Linden Park, Family Park, Hot Springs Village Animal Welfare League, the MLK Jr. parade, Jackson House Thrift store, St. John’s Catholic Church, West Shores Retirement Home, Project HOPE Food Bank, and St. Luke’s Episcopal warming center. The day concluded with a school-wide assembly featuring two alumni, Ben Bell (‘00) and Alderman Montae’l Williams (‘19).
SGA hosted a Bingo night for the students who did not attend SLAMT.
SLAMT
Sixty-three students traveled to Natchitoches, LA on February 7th-9th to participate in friendly extramural games between the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA), the Texas Academy of Math and Science (TAMS) and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS). Students participated in basketball, volleyball, soccer, flag football, ultimate frisbee, and table tennis. The dance club also wowed the participants with a dance performance.
Student Leader Selection
Student Leader selection has begun for the 2025-2026 school year and is open to all Juniors. The four positions are Community Leader, Admissions Delegate, Student Ambassador, and Peer Mentor. The Community Leader and Peer Mentor positions will focus on our internal stakeholders (enrolled students). On the other hand, the Admissions Delegate and Student Ambassador positions will focus on our external stakeholders.
Prom
Prom will take place on April 26th in the CIC under the theme “Midnight Ball”. Students will be provided a full meal as well as desserts and finger foods. Parents and Alumni are encouraged to donate dresses, help with hair and make-up, or even assist with check-in.
Admissions and Outreach
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Jason Hudnell, Director of
Admissions
The Department of Admissions and Outreach are in the home stretch of this year’s recruiting and programming cycle We see applications being submitted earlier in the cycle than in previous years. The admissions department has made personal communication and helping to escort families through the admissions funnel each step of the way a priority and we are seeing that work pay dividends. The addition of the ASMSA Online Academy has made it an exciting time in the Admissions Department. The ASMSA-TIP Educator cohort as part of our ASMSA-TIP programming has also shown promise, this is an exciting new partnership as we continue to lead GT educators across the state.
By the Numbers
• 126 submitted applications to date.
• 104 Prospective families have participated in one of our three Preview Days.
• 35 Prospective students participated in a Shadow Stay this year.
• 410 students admitted to ASMSA-TIP this year
• 92 educators have joined the ASMSA-TIP Educator Cohort.
• 229 students from 14 school districts participated in an ASMSA Field Trip last quarter
Admissions
The ASMSA Admissions team is pleased to report positive trends in student recruitment and engagement. Notably, the number of submitted applications continues to rise earlier in the admissions cycle compared to previous years. This shift suggests increased awareness of ASMSA’s opportunities and stronger early commitment from prospective students and their families.
A significant contributor to this early engagement has been ASMSA’s Preview Days. These events have proven invaluable in providing students and their families with a comprehensive overview of the school’s academic and residential programs. This year, over 100 families from across Arkansas have attended Preview Days, underscoring their role in building enthusiasm and understanding about ASMSA. Families have expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet faculty, interact with current students, and gain deeper insight into the school’s unique community of learning
In addition to Preview Days, Shadow Stays continue to serve as a key initiative for prospective students to experience life at ASMSA firsthand. To date, 35 students have participated in Shadow Stay events, spending a day alongside current students to experience ASMSA’s rigorous academics, engaging extracurriculars, and supportive residential life. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with many stating that the experience solidified their decision to apply.
Looking ahead, the Admissions team is diligently preparing for the upcoming Interview Days, which will be held on April 5th and April 12th. These interviews serve as a critical step in the selection process, allowing staff to assess applicants’ readiness for ASMSA’s challenging and
rewarding environment. The team is working to ensure a smooth and welcoming experience for all prospective students and their families during these pivotal events.
Additionally, interest in ASMSA’s Online Academy is steadily increasing, providing students statewide with access to advanced coursework regardless of location. There is an online information session scheduled for March 6th to provide families with details about the program and how it can benefit students seeking an enriched online academic experience.
Overall, ASMSA’s recruitment initiatives continue to gain momentum, with strong engagement across all outreach programs. The Admissions team remains committed to connecting with talented students and ensuring they have the information and experiences needed to make an informed decision about their future at ASMSA. We look forward to building on these successes in the months ahead.
Outreach
Since December 1, Outreach has hosted four community field trips across the state, an oncampus chess event for 8 districts across the state, and the AMC 8, a mathematics competition for middle-grade students. 64 people (~25 families) participated in a Planetarium Night hosted in partnership with UCA.
Outreach received funding for 3 AEGIS grants to support Summer@ASMSA 2025, and is now working to recruit students and plan 2025 camp activities. Additionally, Outreach is preparing for 5 visitors from Hanamaki Kita and 22 visitors from Tennoji Super Science High School who will visit in March and April, respectively.
ASMSA-TIP
In the past three months, ASMSA-TIP students have participated in an NSA webinar, a day at Museum of Discovery, and a STEAM night in Hot Springs in both December and February. 40 families received digital outreach resources and activities for the winter break. 30 parents and educators are participating in a monthly book group on The Anxious Generation.
Students also continued to participate in ACT debrief sessions as well as monthly interest group meetings in STEM and Creativity. Between December and February, families received monthly newsletters and educators received a quarterly newsletter featuring GT curriculum resources. 16 GT educators also participated in an on-campus PD session in early December.
Campus Operations
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Phil Grace, Director of IT and Campus Operations
Campus Operations has been busy this quarter with preparing to exit the hospital complex, undergoing a cybersecurity audit, and meeting the daily needs of ASMSA On January 11th-12th, the Hot Springs area experienced a significant winter storm resulting in an estimated accumulation of 11 inches of snow. The maintenance team worked tirelessly over several days to clear campus sidewalks and parking lots. This ensured student and employee safety when operations resumed. I appreciate their hard work in difficult conditions.
By the Numbers
• 644 ASMSA inventoried surplus items have been transferred to Marketing and Redistribution. (Some inventoried items include pallets of multiple items.) We’ve estimated 40-42 pallets worth of items were transferred to M&R.
• 90 new desk phones were installed campus-wide 75 faculty and staff members now have the option to remotely access their ASMSA extension from a mobile phone or tablet.
• 4 new video intercoms have been installed at key entry points to improve the visitor admittance experience and enhance campus security.
• IT has resolved 87 support tickets this quarter, and the maintenance and janitorial team received 159 emailed requests. This does not include in-person requests, special projects, or IT room setup for events.
• This quarter, ASMSA used approximately 106 terabytes of internet data and 280 terabytes of total network data.
Hospital Handoff
The old hospital complex was used to store a significant amount of old, outdated, or damaged IT equipment, furniture, and gym equipment. From the fall to early winter 2024, these items were cataloged, labeled, packaged, and submitted as surplus transfers to the Arkansas State Marketing and Redistribution Department. Transfer to the M & R Department is always subject to their schedule and our transfers were completed on January 30th, 2025.
The city has estimated they will be vacating maintenance building #2 by the end of February or early March. Maintenance building #2 has been used for city storage but is now needed for Maintenance to store the remainder of their supplies, equipment, and wood shop equipment. Once the last of the ASMSA equipment is relocated to building #2, we can complete the hospital handoff to the City of Hot Springs.
Maintenance Relocation
With the upcoming hospital handoff, maintenance has had to relocate to building #1 behind the Student Center. Some repairs and refurbishments have been completed to the building to make it habitable including electrical, plumbing, HVAC repair, and replacement of shop doors. Maintenance has completed relocating from the Cedar Street wing of the hospital complex to building #1 behind the Student Center.
Baker Tilly Audit
The IT department has finalized responses to the Baker Tilly cybersecurity audit and has started working through its list of recommendations. We will have all compliance items completed before the final Baker Tilly review in the summer of 2025. The list comprises updating a couple of older systems, creating an incident response plan, and modifying some processes and procedures to ensure we comply with Baker Tilly requirements and industry best practices.
Unified Communications
In 2024 we identified our phone system as needing a significant upgrade. The previous phone system was obsolete, insecure, and lacked the features offered by most modern phone systems. After evaluating several systems, we decided on Zoom for telephone service as the best fit for ASMSA. Zoom was the natural choice as it allowed us to consolidate three separate bills into one, had a low learning curve for employees, and has already been adopted by other U of A system members. This quarter we finalized the transition to Zoom which resulted in new desk phones, mobile access to voice extensions, and a unified interface for all telephony and video conferencing campus-wide by way of one simple application.
Human Resources
March 2025 Quarterly Report
Brandi Brazil, Director of Human Resources & Campus Culture
The ASMSA Office of Human Resources continued with recruitment efforts, hosted employee engagement events, organized professional development opportunities, wrapped up the Faculty Advancement Plan application cycle, expanded the wellness program, and initiated the performance review process.
By the Numbers
● Twelve positions (four academic) actively recruited for FY25 and FY26.
● Fifteen applications received as of 2/24 for the Director of Finance position.
● Thirteen applications received as of 2/24 for a Res Life position.
Recruitment
Qualified candidates for the residential life and finance positions were interviewed via Zoom for the first round of interviews, and top candidates were invited to campus for second interviews. Below is the status of advertised positions:
Computer Science Instructor: offer was accepted by Bennett Ritchie (began January 1) Director of Finance: offer was accepted by Stephen Malec (began January 3)
Residential Experience Coordinator: advertisement began January 6
Purchasing/Travel Coordinator: advertisement began January 22
Adjunct Economics Instructor: advertisement began February 14
Japanese Language Instructor: advertisement began February 21
Employee Engagement
ASMSA has historically held a monthly celebration for birthdays on campus to recognize our employees and invite the campus to join in. This creates an opportunity to interact with colleagues while recognizing employees. This monthly celebration will resume in March.
In December, we hosted a festive “Soup”er Study Day Lunch to celebrate the holiday season. Participants signed up to bring their favorite soup, chili, or stew for everyone to enjoy, creating a delicious variety of flavors to sample.
Professional Development
Our professional development opportunity was offered in January as part of welcome back week. The topic of discussion was the overall update on ASMSA and things to expect in the coming year.
Performance Reviews
Faculty and staff performance reviews for 2024 began on February 10. Annual performance reviews are an opportunity for employees and managers to discuss job responsibilities, achievements over the past year, and areas for improvement as well as setting goals for the upcoming year.
Wellness Program
With the loss of our fitness space, our wellness program activities are currently on pause as we explore new opportunities–and a suitable space–to reintroduce strength training for employees and yoga for both employees and students. These offerings promote focus, relaxation, and flexibility, reinforcing our commitment to physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Student Government Association
February 2024 Quarterly Report
Karilynn Arellano, SGA President
SGA had a busy, productive, and enjoyable couple of months. To kick off the semester we held sophomore and junior representative elections. We had a Bingo Night while the ASMSA athletes were at SLAMT, hosted Pancake Night, and motivated our peers during finals. SGA is excited to end the year strong!
By the Numbers
● This year we started with $3,485 in our club fund. Our current club fund stands at $1,095.
● We have raised SGA funds significantly. At the beginning of the year we had $1,200 and now SGA has a $3,500 balance.
● SGA was able to raise $500 from selling parking spaces with Res Life for the Picollo Zoppe’ Circus that came to Hot Springs in December.
● We held SGA elections this semester and had 4 sophomores and 17 juniors run.
● There were a total of 109 votes cast in the sophomore and junior elections.
Representative Elections
This January SGA held its spring elections. Sophomore representatives delivered their speeches in the cafeteria on January 19, while the juniors presented at the floor meeting on January 20th. Many current representatives plan to run for E-Board in April, with requirements set at one semester of experience per position, and two semesters for the president.
President’s Council
Recently the E-board had a meeting with all club presidents to discuss upcoming opportunities for fundraising. The SGA Information Committee will host Cultural Fest in April where we will feature a variety of cultural clubs and students showcasing their cultures. SGA Interest and Wellness will also host DolphinStock in April which will focus on promoting well-being.
Additionally, at the President’s Council Meeting, E-Board discussed fund requests and how they function. Many members had difficulties understanding the process.
Other Events
While the athletes of ASMSA were at SLAMT, SGA hosted a bonfire and Bingo Night for those that did not attend SLAMT. We made sure that there was something fun to do on campus so everyone would feel involved. During finals week we hosted Pancake Night where Student Interest and Wellness cooked pancakes for everyone. Additionally, E-Board prepared goodie bags for all students, each accompanied by a personalized letter during the week of finals.
Future Plans:
In addition to Cultural Fest and DolphinStock, SGA is excited to plan an Easter scavenger hunt, Holi celebration, and our senior trip. This spring's lineup has taken weeks of careful planning, and we’re thrilled to end the academic year on such a high note.