The Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science is pleased to announce the Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year award cycle for the 2021-2022 school year. This award is open to anyone holding an Arkansas Educator’s License, in good standing, and currently working in an Arkansas K-12 public or public charter school. The selection process will seek educators who demonstrate a strong commitment to and substantial impact on the CS initiative in their school and community; rubric will include, but is not limited to, consideration of evidence of direct student, school, community, and state impact; evidence of personal commitment to professional growth; and evidence of commitment to and excitement about the #CSforAR / #ARKidsCanCode Computer Science Initiative.

Five finalists will be selected from the applicants, and each will receive $2,500.00. From that five, one will be selected as the Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year for 2022, and receive an additional $12,500.00 award.

“It is a true honor and privilege to have been selected as the 2021 Computer Science Educator of the Year. To be honest, I almost did not apply for this award because I convinced myself I needed more time to sharpen my ‘saw’ as a computer science educator, but ultimately, I decided I didn’t have anything to lose by applying. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude and what this award means to me,” said Ashley Kincannon, Arkansas’s 2021 Computer Science Educator of the Year. “This is proof that anyone can accomplish anything they set their minds to as long as they are willing to work hard and persevere to achieve their goals and dreams. I want to personally encourage you to take the leap and put your application in because I am sure you are doing something incredible in your classroom, and I know we can all learn from you. Now more than ever, we need to stick together, motivate, and inspire each other.”

Eligible educators may apply at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ARCSEOY2022 through the end of February 2022.

A complete application will include:

• Responses to requested personal information

• Resume (3 page* limit)

• Three letters of recommendation; including one from each of the following

  • Principal or other direct supervisor

  • Other teacher or other educator which holds a similar position (does not have to be in the same district)

  • Parent or other community leader outside of education

• One artifact that supports your application; artifacts may include but are not limited to:

  • Link to a teaching or professional development delivery video (up to 30 minutes) and associated documentation (lesson plan or presentation)

  • Something created or completed for the benefit of your students or school that has a high and/or long-term impact

• Responses to the following six reflection questions (There is a 2,500 character maximum for each question’s response.)

  • Question 1: Given unlimited resources, without financial constraints, what would be your ultimate vision for computer science for your student population?

  • Question 2: Reflecting upon your work supporting Computer Science education; what makes you the Arkansas exemplar of a highly qualified and highly motivated educator in this field?

  • Question 3: What do you believe sets you apart from other educators in this field as a leader, supporter, and advocate of computer science education that goes beyond your assigned duties?

  • Question 4: How do you demonstrate, in your classroom environment, the importance of the Computer Science Practices, and which of these would your students say you value the most and why?

  • Question 5: What actions are you taking to increase diversity within your computer science program and what identifiable results can be attributed to these actions?

  • Question 6: How are you supporting the growth and availability of computer science oriented student pathway opportunities and development within your school?

Only fully complete applications submitted by 11:45p.m. CST on February 28, 2022, will be eligible for consideration. 

The Arkansas Computer Science Initiative Unit will select five (5) finalists based on a rubric scoring system. The five (5) finalists will be announced on or before March 31, 2022, and will be eligible to receive a $2,500.00 award.

A panel of reviewers, composed of members of the Computer Science and Computing Initiative Unit and other external state computer science and education leaders, will select the winner from the five finalists.

The date, time, and place of the announcement of the winner is still to be determined; this information will be shared at a later date.

The Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year will receive an additional $12,500.00 award. The selected Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year will be requested to be available for awards/announcement ceremony and potentially participate in the creation of a promotional video.