SPRINGDALE -- Students in the Environmental And Spatial Technology program at Sonora Elementary School were the youngest to win the Timothy R. Stephenson Founder's Award this week.
The award was presented Thursday as part of the Environmental And Spatial Technology Initiative National Conference in Hot Springs, according to a news release. Sonora is the first elementary school to win the award, said Josh Worthy, facilitator of the program at Sonora.
Students have to nominate their own programs for the award and review the progress they've made during the past year, Worthy said. Students submit six videos and four reports with evidence from their projects as part of the application.
"It's a competition of how you've grown from the year before," he said.
Sonora's program was one of five finalists for the award last year, but Har-Ber High School's program won, Worthy said.
"It was really cool to have them pass it over to us," he said.
Worthy said it was exciting for the students to win the award, but their work for the year isn't over. Students will launch a weather balloon April 5, and they need to put the smartphone application they created for the school on iTunes.
NW News on 03/22/2014