Page 7 - TL Spirit of Hot Springs May 2016

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TRILAKES EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRATGAZETTE SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2016 • SPIRIT OF HOT SPRINGS • 7TT
SCHOOLING IN THE SPA CITY
Area institutions unveil new developments, accomplishments
By Sarah DeClerk
SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
From advanced classes to strategic partnerships, Hot Springs schools are committed to better serving the city’s future leaders. Here are a handful of educational happenings in the area.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARTNERS WITH UNIVERSITY
This fall, more Hot Springs college students will be able to earn bachelor’s degrees without leaving the city, thanks to a partnership between National Park College and Arkadelphia’s Henderson State University.
“Partnerships for higher education, and especially community colleges, are key,” said John Hogan, National Park College president. “National Park College has a very high capacity for partnerships and is working to foster additional collaborations among Arkansas universities.”
After earning their associate degrees at the college, students can complete their bachelor’s degrees through Henderson State University at the Hot Springs Downtown Education Center, located in the Landmark Building at 201 Market St.
The center offers two degrees and plans to add three more in the fall, Hogan said. Glen Jones, Henderson State University president, said the arrangement is convenient for students.
“This partnership was designed to help students finish their four-year-degree programs while staying close to home, allowing them to keep their current jobs and fulfill family obligations as well,” he said.
The partnership is especially important because the two institutions share a workforce area, Hogan said.
“Garland County’s economy and quality of life depend on expanded educational opportunities for our entire region,” he said. “This relationship is continuing to grow, and we expect it will bear even more fruit in going forward.”
ASMSATO BREAK GROUND ON NEW COMPLEX
The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will begin construction on a new 21,000-square-foot creativity and innovation complex this year, director Corey Alderdice said, adding that he expects the facility to open for the fall 2018 semester.
The school’s first new academic facility will suppor t the ar t, music and computer science
SUBMITTED
The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts plans to break ground on a new creativity and innovation complex this year.The facility is expected to be complete in fall 2018.
WILLIAM HARVEY/TRI-LAKES EDITION
Hot Springs High School senior Katelyn Bondhus was recently named one of two top youth volunteers in Arkansas by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WINS VOLUNTEERISM AWARD
Although many teenagers spend their summers at the mall or the pool, Hot Springs High School senior Katelyn Bondhus spent one week each summer helping others.
In seventh grade, she began volunteering with the Ozark Mission Project, which assists individuals in need of yardwork or home repairs, the school’s press release states. Bondhus returned each year after that, she said, adding that she also volunteered with Jackson House and the Humane Society of Garland County.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards recognized her service by naming her one of two Arkansas top youth volunteers for 2016.
“I was really shocked at first, but it’s an amazing feeling to know that things I’ve done in the community are actually helping,” Bondhus said.
In winning the award, she received $1,000, a silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where she met other youth volunteers from across the country.
“It was amazing,” she said. “It was really eye- opening to see everything that can be done by young people.”
In the fall, Bondhus plans to pursue a pre- medicine degree at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and eventually attend medical school to become a cardiologist, she said, adding that she hopes to continue volunteering in some way.
programs, he said, and will also house the school’s networks and information technology office, as well as a multipurpose community space.
“It will be the first time in campus history that we have a space on campus large enough to accommodate all of our faculty and students under one roof,” Alderdice said, adding that the area will be used for assemblies, special events, auditions and more.
The estimated $8.25 million project will be funded using a combination of institutional resources, state support through general improvement funds, and private donations.
The school recently received a $50,000 donation from the family of Dan Fredinburg, a 1999 alumnus, which the school will use to construct the innovation lab within the complex, Alderdice said, adding that the space will house the school’s wood shop and robotics lab.
“What better way to build on the incredible legacy of an alum like Dan than by honoring him and knowing that some of our absolute best and brightest students at ASMSA will benefit from [Dan’s family’s] gift and his memory?”Alderdice said.
LAKESIDE HIGH SCHOOL LAUNCHES LAKESIDE
LEGACY PROGRAM
Many Lakeside High School students may have a leg up after graduation. This year, the school began its Lakeside Legacy Program, which allows students to graduate with up to 66 hours
of college credit, Principal Darin Landry said. Although the school has offered concurrent credit before, this is the first year Lakeside has fully
implemented the program, he said.
“I think it’s been pretty successful,” he said.
“There’s a little hesitation as ninth-graders take college courses, but our ninth-graders are stepping up and doing a great job. After this first year’s under our belt, I really think this program’s going to grow even more, and it will be well-established.”
Available classes are based on grade level, so students in higher grades have more concurrent- course options than ninth-graders, he added. Taking college courses early may save students and their families both time and money.
“College right now is very expensive, and we’re just trying to help our parents out with basic college classes, to where [students] can get into college and be a step in front of the others, so they can continue their college career, get out of college quicker and get in the job force earlier,” Landry said.
The classes are free to students and their parents, he said, adding that the program may help students prepare for a college workload.
“The hope for the future of the program is to get more students college ready,” Landry said. “That way, when they do graduate and they go to college, then they have that experience already, so there’s no worries about the course loads, the courses and different things like that.”