Log Cabin Democrat. Nov. 17, 2010.

Promise

When we first heard of the El Dorado Promise, a scholarship program founded by Murphy Oil Company that pays tuition and mandatory fees to Arkansas two- and four-year colleges for El Dorado High School graduates who meet qualifications, we knew it was going to be a substantial influence on the students it helps.

Now, a few years later, Murphy Oil is still sticking to its promise, and the statistics gathered in just three short years are astounding. What was once a deteriorating community is now a thriving, bustling atmosphere where parents from all over the country, and a few from other countries, are beating down the school districts doors for a chance to get their students enrolled in El Dorado schools.

According to the Promise’s website, since the programs foundation, EDHS’s graduates attending college rate has increased from about 60 percent to 81 percent.

Now, there’s another promise. From another community. And it has all the makings to be another El Dorado Promise.

It’s the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship. And it has the same goal as the El Dorado Promise: sending graduates to college because it’s what’s best for the community and local economy.

With the support of the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, the Arkadelphia Promise will offset the difference between what the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship (the lottery scholarship) covers and the total amount of mandatory tuition and fees at any accredited public Arkansas college or university.

Current seniors and future graduates of Arkadelphia High School join graduates of El Dorado High School in being the beneficiaries of a powerful promise: college scholarships, opportunity, a great chance to create a great future.

The Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship, announced last week, is funded by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp. The program will pay students eligible for Arkansas Lottery scholarships the balance of their college tuition and fees.

We also give thanks this season to Southern Bancorp, the Ross Foundation, and the Arkadelphia Public Schools. Their generosity and far-reaching vision are helping an entire community of students afford the opportunity to earn college degrees. These partners recently launched the Arkadelphia Promise, making a college education a real option for every child in Arkadelphia. Just as the El Dorado Promise provides funding for students to go to college, the community of Arkadelphia has committed support and guidance to a generation of students. It is gratifying to know that these programs will provide life-changing opportunities for so many young people in our State.

This is Governor Mike Beebe.

As we gather together with family and friends this Thanksgiving, we are grateful for the many ways that our people and our State have been blessed.

We also give thanks this season to Southern Bancorp, the Ross Foundation, and the Arkadelphia Public Schools. Their generosity and far-reaching vision are helping an entire community of students afford the opportunity to earn college degrees. These partners recently launched the Arkadelphia Promise, making a college education a real option for every child in Arkadelphia. Just as the El Dorado Promise provides funding for students to go to college, the community of Arkadelphia has committed support and guidance to a generation of students. It is gratifying to know that these programs will provide life-changing opportunities for so many young people in our State.

Students who graduate from Arkadelphia High School will get help picking up the tab for college.

Representatives from Southern Bancorp and the Ross Foundation, both based in Arkadelphia, announced Tuesday that they have partnered to start a scholarship program that will help students pay the cost of tuition and mandatory fees up to the highest rate of a public university in Arkansas.

The partners did not put a cap on the amount of money they would make available but said the program will last for at least 18 years.

Southern Bancorp is the largest rural development bank in America. The Ross Foundation manages timberlands set aside for conservation, and its philanthropic arm was formed to support the educational and development …

Arkadelphia, Ark. — There were just three school districts across the nation that guarantee every one of their students a college education. Tuesday evening, Arkadelphia became the fourth.

In a special “education pep rally” event at Badger Stadium, at precisely 5:51 p.m., Dr. Wesley Kluck announced that Arkadelphia would follow the El Dorado school district, and have a “method to increase college attendance, and a process to ensure that the financial gap could be filled with outside resources.”

The Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp have partnered to make this opportunity available to students. According to the Arkadelphia Promise website that went viral during the pep rally, “the goal of the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship is to increase the college-going rate for local students, reduce the number of students dropping out of college for financial reasons and provide a more educated workforce.”

Current seniors and future graduates of Arkadelphia High School who are eligible for Arkansas lottery-funded scholarships will have the balance of their college tuition and fees paid by a new scholarship program announced Tuesday.

The Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship, funded by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, both of Arkadelphia, was announced to a communitywide pep rally at the high school at which Gov. Mike Beebe was the keynote speaker. A taped congratulatory message from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was also played to the crowd.

A fact sheet describing the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship is available at ArkadelphiaPromise.org.

The new scholarship is similar to the El Dorado Promise, a scholarship program for graduates of El Dorado High School funded by Murphy Oil Corp.

The long-awaited Boys & Girls Club of Clark County will open its doors Sept. 7, thanks to funding from local and state sources totaling $700,000 over five years.

The Arkansas Department of Education awarded a $540,000 five-year grant to Arkadelphia Public Schools to be used specifically for the Boys & Girls Club. Southern Bancorp awarded a $125,000 three-year grant to help sustain the Club. Additionally, the local community raised $35,000 for the project, including donations from the Ross Foundation, the United Way of Clark County, the Cone Foundation and the Arkadelphia Noon Rotary Club.

BOLTON, MISSISSIPPI – Today, United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) announced The United States Department of Housing & Urban Development has awarded $710,900 to Southern Bancorp Capital Partners of Helena, Arkansas to build on momentum for the neighboring Coahoma County, Mississippi by developing a detailed, sophisticated plan for revitalizing the physical and economic infrastructure of the County, including housing, transportation, natural resources, and water systems. The Sustainable Communities planning process will follow on the heels of the county-wide strategic planning process that is currently underway, and will involve stakeholders and members of the general public developing a more detailed, in-depth plan for the areas covered by the Sustainable Communities program.

The Arkadelphia Board of Education has entered an agreement with Southern Bancorp and Clark County Child Care, Inc., to transfer leadership and management of the Clark County Child Care facility and program to the Arkadelphia School District.

According to information from the Arkadelphia School, CCCC has operated as a non-profit organization since it was established 18 months ago as one of the outcomes of the Clark County Strategic Plan. The program currently serves 94 children, aged six weeks to four years.