The Arkansas Department of Education is pleased to announce that the Arkansas Governor's Scholastic Honors Day will be held Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock. Scholastic Honors Day recognizes Arkansas's best and brightest students.

Selection Criteria:

• Each public and private high school is encouraged to select two students in the senior class who best represent excellent academic achievement.
• Due to scheduling limitations, each high school can only select two (2) students to attend the event.
• **Selection criteria are determined entirely by the high school**

Registration Information: 

• Registration must be completed by school counselors and is to be submitted online by end of day Friday, March 20, 2026. 
  • Additional information will be sent to superintendents, principals, and school counselors via email. 
  • The registration link will only be sent to Arkansas school counselors. Please note the following: 
  • If a counselor has not received the registration link within 48 hours of this Commissioner's Memo, please check the junk/spam folder.
  • If a counselor is on an extended leave (planned or unplanned), a school administrator should notify Morgan.Weigand@ade.arkansas.gov to ensure the school has timely access to the registration link.
• Parent submissions will not be accepted. 

Considerations for Successful Registration: 

• Counselors should ensure students are available, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, to attend the event prior to submitting their names. 
• Please carefully review the entry to ensure the student's name is correct prior to submitting the registration, including ensuring that the first and last names are in the correct fields. The certificate will reflect the student's name as submitted. 
• A slideshow will be created honoring the selected students. The slides will include the student's photo, name, school, and hometown. If your student would like to have a photo included, please upload it in the registration form. 
  • Photos are to be a formal headshot school portrait of the student only (.jpg format required).
  • The attached release form will need to be completed and be in possession of the school before submitting the photo to DESE. 
  • Note: If a photo is not submitted, only the student's name, school, and hometown will be included in the slide. 

Following Registration: 

• Each student's high school counselor and parents/guardians will receive an email on or after Wednesday, April 8, 2026, with more information, such as arrival time, time of event, etc. 
• A printed letter will arrive in the mail on or after Wednesday, April 8, 2026. 

Event Details: 

• The event will be hosted at:

Governor's Mansion
1800 Center Street
Little Rock, AR 72206

• There will not be a make-up day. 
  Counselors should ensure students are available, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, to attend the event prior to submitting their names.
• Business attire is encouraged.
• Each student will have his or her picture taken with the governor and the first gentleman and will receive a certificate from Governor Sanders. 
• Students may bring their immediate family members to the event. 

Questions:

• Questions related to the 2026 Arkansas Governor's Scholastic Honors Day are to be directed to Lindsay Reed, with ADE's School Counseling Unit at Lindsay.Reed@ade.arkansas.gov. 

Please help ensure that Arkansas's most outstanding students have the opportunity to participate in this wonderful event to honor academic performance. The governor and first gentleman look forward to meeting the students and their parents/guardians on Saturday, May 2, 2026!

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