ADE Commissioner Jacob Oliva
Jacob Oliva
Secretary | Read Bio 
Department of Education

Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Arkansas Computer Science Gold Medal School Program Continued for 2021-2022 and School Year Rankings for 2020-2021

Memo Information

Memo Number
COM-22-085
Memo Date
12/7/2021
Memo Type
Informational
Unit
Central Administration
Regulatory Authority
Response Required
NO
Attention
Federal Programs; Superintendents; Assistant Superintendent; Principals; Technology Coordinators; Test Coordinators; General Business Managers; Teachers; Gifted & Talented Coordinators; Curriculum Coordinators; Bookkeepers; School Counselors; Techstart Coordinators or Contact Name; Equity Coordinators (Disability/Race/Gender/National Origin); Child Nutrition Directors/Managers; Data Stewards (SIS; eSchool; eFinance; TRIAND); District Coordinators (ALE; Homeless; ESOL; SDFS & Foster); Parent Involvement Coordinators/Facilitators; CTE Coordinator (COOPs and regular school districts); Facilities / Maintenance Director

Primary Contact Information

Secondary Contact/s Information

Memo Text

The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science is pleased to announce the continuation of the Computer Science Gold Medal School Program (ACSGM) and the rankings for the 2020-2021 ACSGM, the inaugural year of the program. The ACSGM was announced via Commissioner’s Memo COM-21-048 in the fall of 2020, and was designed to recognize Arkansas high schools for outstanding work in supporting and implementing the Arkansas Computer Science and Computing Initiative. Schools are ranked based on information submitted to and reviewed by the ADE Office of Computer Science. The criteria that forms the basis of the rubric centers on Governor Asa Hutchinson’s 5-year goals and the recommendations of the 2020 Arkansas Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force.


As part of the ranking rubric, schools may receive no ranking, honorable mention, bronze, silver, or gold ranking, with gold ranking being the highest level and requiring high performance in a majority of the criteria.


For the 2020-2021 cycle, the ADE Office of Computer Science received and reviewed twelve applications. Of those twelve applications, three schools received a Bronze level recognition with three schools receiving an honorable mention. Those rankings, in alphabetical order, are as follows:


  • Arkansas High School in Texarkana - Honorable Mention
  • Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts - Bronze
  • Bentonville High School - Bronze
  • Bentonville West High School - Bronze
  • Russellville High School - Honorable Mention
  • Springdale High School - Honorable Mention

The ACSGM will be continued for the 2021-2022 school year. The ADE Office of Computer Science, based on feedback from this past year, has reviewed the rubric and simplified the application process for schools and district personnel. Authorized District/School personnel will submit responses to each of the requested categories. This submission will then be sent to the School District Superintendent for certification. The ADE Office of Computer Science will review the certified submissions and request documentation if deemed necessary. The submission portal (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACSGM) is now open and will close at 11:45p.m. on January 31, 2022.


Rankings for the 2021-2022 school year will be announced during the Summer of 2022.


More information, as made available, may be found at: https://cs.arkansas.gov.

 

This is Computer Science Education Week. Arkansas is releasing a new Computer Science related announcement and/or commitment each day of this week. For a full listing of the announcements as they are made, please visit the ADE Computer Science Website at: https://csforar.info/CompSciEdWeek

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