Education notebook

Park gives district computers, server

Buffalo National River, a part of the National Park Service, recently donated 47 computers, 20 monitors, 12 laptops and a server to the Ozark Mountain School District, which includes Bruno-Pyatt, St. Joe and Western Grove.

Buffalo National River Superintendent Mark Foust said he welcomed the opportunity to help schools by donating the excess equipment through the Computers for Learning Program.

“The chance to help these rural schools and the students in our communities is one of the best things we can do,” Foust said. “The National Park Service mission to protect and provide for the enjoyment of Buffalo River includes education. Helping students with access to computers and more learning opportunities online is a major step toward that goal.”

The donated computers are going to be installed in the business classrooms at the Western Grove and Bruno-Pyatt campuses.

Schools awarded for teaching tech

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has made computer science education a priority in his administration, and the Arkansas Department of Education have announced the winning schools in the 2018-19 #ARKidsCanCode enrollment contest.

In the category of schools with fewer than 1,000 students, the winners and the awards are:

■ Greenwood Freshman Academy, $10,000 for having both the highest number and highest percentage of students enrolled in computer-science courses.

■ Kirby High School, $5,000 for having the largest percentage increase of students enrolled in computer courses.

In the category of schools with 1,000 or more students, the winners and awards are:

■ Mountain Home Career Academies, $5,000 for having the highest percentage of students enrolled in computer courses.

■ Bentonville High School, $5,000 for having the highest number of students enrolled in computer-science courses. ■ Academies of West Memphis, $5,000 for having the largest percentage increase of computer students.

Additionally, Cutter-Morning Star High School is the winner of the random drawing prize package worth $5,000 that was announced in 2018.

The school can use the grant to support future growth of computer-science classes.

Schools received entries in this random drawing for their high enrollment numbers, as well as for submitting information regarding how they encouraged students to enroll in computer courses this past school year.

All public schools with students enrolled in computer courses were eligible. The Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Office of Computer Science provided the funds.

Information about the 2019-20 contest is available at https://bit.ly/2lyAEh8.

Judges, lawyers set high school visits

Justices from the Arkansas Supreme Court, judges from the Arkansas Court of Appeals and members of the Arkansas Bar Association will observe U.S. Constitution Day on Tuesday by visiting high schools.

Constitution Day is observed annually on Sept. 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on that day in 1787.

While the Fourth of July is seen as the birthday of the nation, Constitution Day is observed as the birthday of the U.S. government and is an opportunity to educate students on how their government works and how they can become engaged citizens.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania last week issued the results of its annual survey of American adults on their knowledge of civics. Just 39% of American adults correctly named the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial, compared with 32% last year.

Interviews were conducted with 1,104 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older.

More information about the study is available at https://bit.ly/2kjZ9ys.