For a seventh consecutive year, many of the state’s best and brightest rising high school seniors will spend four summer weeks on the Arkansas Tech University campus in Russellville as students at Arkansas Governor’s School.
The 46th edition of AGS will begin on Sunday, July 6, and continue through Saturday, Aug. 2. Dr. Jacob Grosskopf, ATU faculty member and AGS director, said he anticipates 370 students will report for move-in day and the opening session.
“It’s a school, within a school, that’s between schools,” said Grosskopf when asked to describe Arkansas Governor’s School. “There are many parts to governor’s school. It acts like a small college within a college, even though it’s not a college prep school. In essence, it’s a place where students who are like-minded in that they love certain subjects come together to push themselves and learn.
“One goal that’s never really stated is we want these students to stay in the state,” continued Grosskopf. “After high school, and after college even, we want these students to stay in (Arkansas) and better the state.”
The daily class schedule at AGS is based, in part, upon each student’s demonstrated aptitude in one of nine areas of specialization: choral music, instrumental music, drama, English/language arts, mathematics, natural science, social science, visual arts or a special track dedicated to the economy, natural resources and people of Arkansas.
Those nine disciplines constitute what is defined as AGS Area I. AGS Area II is a study of the nature of knowledge, while AGS Area III is focused on the personal and social development of students.
“It comes down to they want to be here,” said Grosskopf. “There is very little pressure and very low stakes. I think the students get a lot out of that. They can put themselves out there, and because of those low stakes, it’s okay if they make mistakes or fail a little bit. There’s nothing that’s going to be recorded forever on their résumé or their school track record. There’s one key thing that links them all together: they are very applied students, and they are very outgoing students. That might make them feel apart from their class when they are at their own high schools, but when you gather them all together that’s a through line with these students. That’s what makes it so rich and so important.”
Founded in 1979 by Gov. Bill Clinton, Arkansas Governor’s School is supervised by the Arkansas Department of Education Gifted and Talented Programs administrator with assistance from an advisory council appointed by the governor.
Learn more about Arkansas Governor’s School at www.atu.edu/ags.
