I can think of no other individual who would be more deserving of this award than Mrs. Alyssa Henley. She has made a distinctive impact on Springdale’s Gifted and Talented Program through her educational leadership, innovative pedagogical research, and implementation of her gifted identification weighted criteria matrix.
Mrs. Alyssa Henley started her career not in education but in marketing in Oklahoma. While there, she eventually found her true calling in teaching and then moved to Arkansas. During her time in Oklahoma, she garnered numerous teaching and recognition awards.
I have known Mrs. Alyssa Henley for three years as she has facilitated middle school gifted and talented services at J.O. Kelly Middle School in Springdale, Arkansas. As a gifted facilitator, Mrs. Alyssa Henley has worn many hats; however, she would probably say her most important role as a GT facilitator has been her passion and advocacy for identifying underserved students.
Mrs. Alyssa Henley’s Multi-Criteria Weighted Matrix deserves the Challenger Award because of her innovative efforts to provide an equitable gifted identification system so all deserving students can be identified correctly. In doing so, more students will be given the opportunity to be exposed to rigorous, challenging material and a chance at more educational opportunities that could be potentially life-changing. I believe her work in this study will range beyond Springdale Public Schools to other institutions and communities (excerpt from Alyssa Henley's nomination letter).
