The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science is pleased to announce the continuation and a $200,000 expansion of the K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus and Training Program for the 2021-2022 school year.

The K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus and Training Program has been a tremendous success with more than 500 Arkansas educators completing the required 5-day training since it began. 

Under the K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus and Training Program Arkansas educators may be eligible to receive up to $2,000 in bonuses for attending a 5-day professional development session, in the summer of 2021, provided at no cost by the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science; passing the Praxis 5652 exam, gaining a 528 Computer Science Endorsement on their Arkansas Educator’s License; and providing/leading ADE approved K-8 Computer Science professional development options. The bonus amounts, which have changed for this cycle, are listed as follows:

$1,000* - Arkansas educator who:

• attends and completes the required 5-day (30-hour) K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Training sessions approved by the ADE Office of Computer Science
•  scores at or above the state board approved cut score on the Praxis 5652 exam, and
• adds the 528 Computer Science Endorsement on their Arkansas Educator's License  

$500 (1st K-8 CS PD bonus) - Arkansas educator that met the criteria, listed above, for the $1000 bonus and provided/led at least two of the following trainings over K-8 Computer Science concepts and/or teaching strategies: 

• twenty-five (25) hours of documented one-on-one support to educators at your school (educators groups of no larger than 5 other educators at a time),
• fifteen (15) additional hours of documented one-on-one support to any Arkansas K-8 educators (educators groups of no larger than 5 other educators at a time),
• two (2) hours of school wide (with more than 70% of certified staff attending) professional development at your school, 
• twelve (12) hours of PD for 20 or more K-8 Arkansas educators, or
• twelve (12) hours of other K-8 Computer Science Support approved by the Arkansas Director of Computer Science or an Arkansas Computer Science Specialist

$500 (2nd K-8 CS PD Bonus) - Arkansas educator that met the criteria, listed above, for the $1000 bonus and provided/led at least two of the following trainings over K-8 Computer Science concepts and/or teaching strategies: 

• twenty-five (25) hours of documented one-on-one support to educators at your school (educators groups of no larger than 5 other educators at a time),
• fifteen (15) additional hours of documented one-on-one support to any Arkansas K-8 educators (educators groups of no larger than 5 other educators at a time),
• two (2) hours of school wide (with more than 70% of certified staff attending) professional development at your school, 
• twelve (12) hours of PD for 20 or more K-8 Arkansas educators, or
• twelve (12) hours of other K-8 Computer Science Support approved by the Arkansas Director of Computer Science or an Arkansas Computer Science Specialist

To sign up for the K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus and Training Program, educators must register for a 5-day (30-hour) K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Training Session, which will be posted at http://bit.ly/CSforARPD as scheduled. The 100 allocated spots will be assigned on a first-to-register basis.

The application for earned bonuses can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/K8CSforARBonus

Educators seeking one or both of the $500 Bonus must submit a completed “K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Endorsement and Instruction Bonus Program Attestation” with their application. The 2021-2022 school year attestation template is found at http://bit.ly/39DDR5N. 

Disbursements of bonuses will be made in accordance with ADE Commissioner's Memo COM-20-097, released on March 6, 2020.

Arkansas educators that have received or anticipate receiving a bonus for gaining the 528 Computer Science endorsement under any other state funded program or grant, including the High School Computer Science Educator Bonus Program or previous K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus cycles, are not eligible for the 2021-2022 K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Bonus program.

Educators in the 2021-2022 school year program cycle, must complete all requirements and submit an application, with all required paperwork, for bonuses by June 30, 2022.

All educators who completed the (30-hour) K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Training prior to December 31, 2020, have until June 30, 2021, to complete all requirements and submit an application, with all required paperwork, for any bonuses. 

If an educator does not complete the requirements within this time frame, that educator will be required to repeat the completion of the (30-hour) K-8 Computer Science Lead Teacher Training prior to being eligible for any bonuses not already awarded under the program.

Educators receiving any of these bonuses are not disqualified from 5652 PRAXIS reimbursement.

Funding for this bonus program is provided by the ADE as part of Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Computer Science and Computing Initiative. The bonus program is subject to the availability of funding and allowable appropriation of funds. This bonus program may be canceled, and amounts awarded under the program are subject to change, with or without advanced notice at the discretion of ADE.