‘Arkadelphia Promise’ follows results in El Dorado

Following El Dorado’s lead, community leaders in Arkadelphia unveiled a college scholarship program aimed at helping area students and attracting new residents and business to the region, according to this report from Talk Business.

Dubbed the "Arkadelphia Promise," the program will pay the difference between what the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship (AACS) pays toward college and the total mandatory tuition and fees at any public Arkansas college or university accredited by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. For two year schools, the AACS pays $2,500. It pays $5,000 annually for four-year colleges.

The El Dorado Promise has served to increase enrollment in the south Arkansas school district by 4% between 2007 and 2009, ending more than a decade of declining student population in the district.

Also, kindergarten and first grade class enrollments the first two years of the program were the largest recorded in the El Dorado School District.

Established in January 2007 and funded with $50 million by Murphy Oil, the El Dorado Promise is a scholarship program covering tuition and mandatory fees that can be used at any accredited two- or four-year, public or private educational institution in the U.S. The maximum amount payable is up to the highest resident tuition at an Arkansas public university. The El Dorado Promise funds are not need-based and are given based on the amount of time students have lived in the district and attended El Dorado public schools.

Arkadelphia High School graduates starting with the Class of 2011 will be eligible for the new scholarship program. Students can use the financial aid to help pay tuition and mandatory fees at any accredited two-year or four-year college or university in the U.S.

The program will be funded by The Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, two Arkadelphia-based organizations.

To be eligible for the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship, Arkadelphia High School graduates must be Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship recipients and plan to immediately attend college after graduation. The Arkadelphia Promise will have a maximum value equal to the highest tuition and mandatory fees at an Arkansas public college or university.

Phil Baldwin, president and CEO of Southern Bancorp, said the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship exemplifies one of Southern’s long-term transformational goals: to reduce the high school dropout rate and increase college attendance in the communities served by the bank.

“The Arkadelphia Promise is truly a game-changing initiative,” Baldwin said. “It sends the message that every child in Arkadelphia willing to work hard and succeed academically can attend college. A college degree is a passport to future prosperity for individuals and a more college-educated workforce makes Arkadelphia a more attractive community in which to locate a business. Southern is proud to help make this promise to Arkadelphia students and parents.”