Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship program announces extension

Yahoo

08-05-2025

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Arkadelphia High seniors are only a few school bells away from graduation, and on Wednesday, the organization that provides scholarships for Arkadelphia seniors made a big announcement.
Officials announced that the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarships for graduating seniors, due to expiration this year, are now extended for 12 years. The program began in 2010.
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Side by side with college t-shirts on, graduating senior Xe'nai Harper and the class of 2025 are excited for the next step in life.
'Arkadelphia is family to me, I've been here most of my life,' Harper said.
Harper is headed to Louisiana State University to study theatre.
'I was considering going to a smaller school if I wasn't able to get money from the Promise, so it's really helped me a lot,' Harper said.
Jason Jones, the director of Arkadelphia Promise, says the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp fund the program.
'We help fund our Arkadelphia High School graduates that go on to college or two-year schools or technical training,' Jones said. 'We help pay for their schooling.'
This year's graduating class was set to be the last to receive the scholarship. However, as of Wednesday, that's changed.
'From our 11th grade all the way down to our kindergarteners, the Promise is still going to be around for them,' Jones said.
Sara Adams was in the first Arkadelphia Promise class. Now, she's a special education teacher in the school district.
'With the Arkadelphia Promise, I was able to go to Henderson all four years,' Adams said.
She gives the Promise an A-plus, as now her children will also graduate with it.
'Not only was I the very first class to receive access to that, now my biological children are going to be doing that also, and I think that's really cool,' Adams said.
As Xe'nai signs the Promise letter, she's ready to be an LSU Tiger, but remains proud to be an Arkadelphia Badger.
'I'm glad the school sponsors a Promise because it helps out a lot of kids, and I know it helps me,' Harper said.
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Certain scholarships are available for each year of school, paired with the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship. Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State are also partnering with the Arkadelphia Promise to help out graduates.
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