Math school betters pupils’ success

ASMSA’s numerous on-campus resources are key factors

HOT SPRINGS — The Arkansas School of Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has made significant strides in student success metrics in recent years — including marked improvement in student retention — in large measure thanks to increased “wraparound” services for students, according to Director Corey Alderdice.

“Support services really distinguish ASMSA from other” schools, Alderdice said Thursday during an information session on campus for several members of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees, state legislators and community leaders. Because ASMSA’s 250 students all live on campus, rather than at home with their parents, “they need strong support services.”

Requiring on-campus living levels the playing field for students, as different students have varying levels of support at home, said Dean of Students Rheo Morris. “They also tend to bond over the experience of living together.”

Of course, teenage “drama” can develop, and more than half of ASMSA’s students have accessed mental health services, she said. “It’s not always deep, big things — sometimes, they just need to talk” — and counselors also teach coping skills.

That includes ways to calm themselves down when anxious, as anxiety is the top complaint among students, said Staci Stich, a licensed professional counselor. Not only are ASMSA students on their own away from home years earlier than their peers, they are tossed into a group of new people, and “there’s no going home at the end of the day.”

In addition, for many of these students being top of the class was a critical part of their identity, but at ASMSA they are one of myriad elite students, she said. They are also accustomed to straight A’s, so a “B” at the challenging ASMSA can seem “like the end of the world.”

ASMSA is a new hurdle, but “we give them all the tools and resources,” said Arts and Humanities Chair Mary Leigh. Students learn independence at ASMSA, but “they’re still kids, so we need to support them.”

Every student has the cellphone number of Stich and her colleague, and they are encouraged to reach out any time they are in need, Stich said. Mental health problems do not present “only during office hours.”

Lunch is 90 minutes at ASMSA, so students can receive tutoring from faculty, all of whom hold office hours, most during lunch, said Dean of Academic Affairs Stuart Flynn. The chance to have one-on-one meetings with teachers is “really crucial.”

ASMSA also has plenty of peer mentoring, as well as

several Student Success Coordinators (SSCs) who help students with everything from academics to college and career planning, he said. SSCs are “a key cog in the whole process.”

SSCs “are very critical” in spotting problems with students and “having the conversations we need to have,” said Leigh. They are “incredibly valuable.”

Though two individuals have the sole title of SSC, a handful of others also act as SSCs in addition to other duties. For example, Adrienne Conley is a SSC and the scholar development coordinator.

Conley spends a lot of time arranging internships and externships for students so they can build a network, gain experience and learn what careers may — or may not — suit them, she said. Even if students realize a job does not appeal to them, that is still “a win” because they will not waste time pursuing it in college or in the job market.

Internships and externships also show students the panoply of jobs available in the state, said Associate Dean for College Counseling Bret Vallun. Even if a student leaves the state for college, he or she “can come back here.”

Students who engage in these opportunities also bring those experiences back to their hometowns, be it during summer vacation or even years later, which then spreads to other families, said Col. Nate Todd, a member of the UA System Board of Trustees. “I love that.”

ASMSA application is open to Arkansans, typically submitted during their sophomore year of high school, according to the school. Since the school opened in 1993, a student from every Arkansas county has attended ASMSA, and the school leads its benchmark institutions in representation of low-income students, doubling the national average.

ASMSA has essentially broken down the duties of a typical high school guidance counselor into more specific elements, with more individuals devoted to those tasks, Alderdice said. A typical high school counselor in America is responsible for roughly 400 students, but ASMSA has seven individuals for approximately 250 students.

For two decades, ASMSA’s “wash” rate — the percentage of students who do not return from one year to the next — was more than 30%, but the “industry benchmark is to try to keep it under 15%,” Alderdice said. Recently, ASMSA has lowered its rate to 12%, and the attrition rate for the class of 2024 was 8%.

For the cohort that is now in their senior year, only one student departed over the summer, said Public Information Specialist Donnie Sewell.

ASMSA has been rated the top public high school with an A+ rating in Arkansas by Niche.com — a website that aims to help families and students choose the best school for them with reviews, ratings, data and in-depth profiles — and ASMSA offers a college bridge program so every student who graduates earns at least 30 hours of college credit through ASMSA’a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith; the average amount of college credit earned by ASMSA students is 50 hours, Alderdice said. ASMSA boasts a 100% rate of graduates either entering college or enlisting in the military; 57% attend college in Arkansas, and the class of 2023 earned more than $20 million in scholarship offers.

Students “surpass their expectations” at ASMSA, said Science Chair Patrycja Krakowiak. “We challenge students, but we leave no one behind.”

In her composition course, Leigh allows students to do a lot of their writing in class so she can aid them if they’re struggling, she said. “The time you have questions is when you’re actually doing the work.”

Krakowiak, who has a Ph.D. in human genetics, studied at the National Institutes of Health and taught at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and utilizes technology in class that tells her immediately how many students correctly answered the questions she posed, she said. That lets her know if she can move on, or if she needs to spend more time on the content.

“There are no holes in our nets,” she added. Because of the model of teaching at ASMSA, “I have time to focus on each student and help them.”

ASMSA boasts 60 clubs and organizations students can join to find “belonging,” and student government facilitates many club events, as well as mental health events, said Daniel Nkunga, who is set to graduate in May and is the 2023-24 Student Government Association president. SGA also brings issues and concerns of the student body to the attention of the administration.

His time at ASMSA has been among the “best” in his life, he added. “I really enjoy living and working here.”

Those clubs and organizations also present leadership opportunities students crave, said Assistant Dean for Residence Life Colin Jno-Finn. Students also have to volunteer, which gets them “invested” and teaches “responsibility.”

Orientations are also paramount in acclimating students to the school, said Math and Computer Science Chair Walt Levisee. Though talented, these students also have insecurities because of their age, so many “wonder if they belong.”

Research opportunities are ample at ASMSA, as every student completes an independent capstone project, and this is another differentiator between ASMSA and other schools in the state, Krakowiak said. “We do not have enough independent research opportunities for students in the state, [so] students are getting left behind.”

With these projects, students become creative problem solvers, which prepares them for college and jobs, she said. The “transformation [is] unbelievable, [as] I can’t recognize the students at the end of their” projects from when they started them.

There is “no more valuable educational experience for a student than to do a long-term, independent study project” in an area of interest, echoed Associate Dean for STEM Brian Monson. “It’s not too different from a senior thesis in college — we get them doing high-level, sophisticated work — and many” graduates find work in research labs as college freshmen, which is unusual.

For students who graduated 2020-23 from ASMSA, more than 70% majored in STEM disciplines in college, according to Alderdice. Onethird of ASMSA students qualify for federal school meal programs, 38% are students of color and 40% are from the Delta region.

There are only 17 schools like ASMSA in the country, and it is the only one in Arkansas, he said. It is “an early college experience for promising young people.”

From 2017-2021, the school had an impact of more than $100 million in the state, and for every dollar invested by the state during that period the school created an additional 68% return on investment in economic growth and development, he said. All classes are taught at the college level, and the school offers 70 courses for university credit.

ASMSA is a state-funded educational program, so tuition, books, room and board are covered by the school’s state funding from the Arkansas General Assembly, according to ASMSA. The annual student assessment is $850 — $350 in residential fees and $250 each semester for the concurrent credit program.

While the students who live on campus 10 months of the year are the most visible ambassadors of ASMSA, the school also serves hundreds of other educators and students statewide, Alderdice said. ASMSA helps fill gaps for other schools by providing training and support for teachers so they can offer instruction in classrooms around the state in computer science, math, biology, physics and even business and language courses, and “that pays off as long as those teachers are in the classroom” affecting students.

Nearly half of Arkansas’ recently certified computer science teachers have received training and support through the school’s distance education and educator development programs, and ASMSA has been recognized by the Computer Science Teachers Association and Code.org with an inaugural Champion of Computer Science award for leadership in computer science education advocacy, according to the UA System. More than 3,300 students and educators across the state benefit from ASMSA’s innovative STEM Pathways program, which builds the capacity of local teachers while ensuring students have access to AP coursework in computer science, biology and statistics.

ASMSA keeps “very talented” students in the state, where ideally they will matriculate at UA System institutions, but it also functions as “a laboratory” of innovative teaching techniques because classes are taught more like a college than a high school, said President of the UA System Donald Bobbitt. “We learn from them, and they learn from us.”