Organization: ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOL RESOURCE CENTER
Mission: SEE SCHEDULE O.
Activities: LEARNING BLADE: TO ASSIST IN INCREASING STUDENT INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT, THE STATE OF ARKANSAS IN COLLABORATION WITH ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOL RESOURCE CENTER (APSRC) BEGAN IN 2016 A STATEWIDE INITIATIVE CALLED LEARNING BLADE TO INCREASE ACCESS FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH (STEM) CAREERS IN EVERY MIDDLE SCHOOL. DURING THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR, APSRC AND LEARNING BLADE HAD OVER 66,164 REGISTERED STUDENTS IN THE LEARNING BLADE PLATFORM. SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN, STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED OVER 1,188,000 STEM AND COMPUTER SCIENCE CAREER AWARENESS ONLINE LESSONS. ARKANSAS WAS THE FIRST STATE TO DELIVER OVER 1 MILLION ONLINE LESSONS TO STUDENTS. THERE WERE OVER 7,600 STEM AND COMPUTER SCIENCE OFFLINE LESSON PLANS, AND RESOURCES WERE DOWNLOADED BY TEACHERS THAT ACCOUNT FOR THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL HOURS OF STEM ENGAGEMENT. ADDITIONALLY OF NOTE, LEARNING BLADE HAS CONDUCTED OVER 200 TRAINING EVENTS REACHING OVER 1,500 EDUCATORS IN ARKANSAS.
CSP: THE OBJECTIVES OF APSRC'S CSP GRANT ARE: 1) TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HIGH QUALITY DISTRICT CONVERSION AND OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THOSE THAT SERVE EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS; 2) TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES, PARTICULARLY WHERE EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS ARE CONCERNED; AND 3) TO DISSEMINATE BEST PRACTICES. WITH THE CSP GRANT FUNDS, APSRC HAS AWARDED 11 OF THE 31 PROJECTED SUBGRANTS; PROVIDED ONSITE ACADEMIC SUPPORT TO SUBGRANTEES; AND DISSEMINATED BEST PRACTICES THROUGH AN ONLINE PORTAL, AT APSRC'S ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE, AND THROUGH A SPRING CONFERENCE HOSTED IN MARCH.
ADE DIGITAL: APSRC PROVIDES DIGITAL LEARNING COURSES TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ARKANSAS TO MEET A VARIETY OF STUDENT NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ASSIST RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN TWO WAYS: 1. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF COURSE OFFERINGS 2. PROVIDE COURSES AND TEACHER FOR COURSES IN WHICH THE STATE EXPERIENCES TEACHER SHORTAGES. STUDENTS CAN ENROLL IN COURSES IN FIVE (5) BASIC AREAS: CORE COURSES, REMEDIATION OR CREDIT RECOVERY, FOREIGN LANGUAGE, CAREER AND TECHNICAL, AND CHARACTER EDUCATION. STUDENTS IN 64 SCHOOL DISTRICTS PARTICIPATED IN 3,066 COURSES DURING THE 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR. APSRC PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOL STAFF DURING THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT PROCESS ANDALSO PROVIDES TECHNICAL SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR.
NTEE category: Education
Secondary category: Youth Development