Funding expands Arkadelphia Promise to Class of 2037

ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas — The Arkadelphia Promise announced a 12-year extension to the scholarship program that benefits graduates of Arkadelphia High School at the annual Arkadelphia Promise Signing Day celebration held Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

The program, which was launched in 2010, was originally planned to only be extended and available to the AHS graduates of the class of 2025. Arkadelphia Promise director Jason Jones announced to those gathered Wednesday afternoon that the program would now extend to those youngest Badgers who are currently enrolled in APSD.

“Thanks to conservative planning, careful stewardship, strategic investments, and the unwavering generosity of our community supporters, we are now in a position to extend this incredible program,” Jones told the crowd gathered to celebrate the AHS class of 2025. “The Arkadelphia Promise will now continue to serve not only our Class of 2025 but also the next generation of Badgers,” Jones said. “Thanks to this new funding and support, we are proud to say that the Arkadelphia Promise will be available to students from the Class of 2026, 2027, 2028 and all the way through to the Class of 2037 — our current kindergarteners.”

Jones went on to explain that renewed support from one of the original contributors and a new partnership with two local institutions has led to the ability to extend the program to future generations of Badgers.

“We are especially grateful to our long-time, original funders — Southern Bancorp and the Ross Foundation — for their continued dedication to this cause,” Jones said. “Today, we are excited to announce a new lead gift from the Ross Foundation. This gift along with a collaboration with two esteemed institutions, Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University, have made this expansion possible.”

Jones added that the future of the Promise will allow many more graduates of AHS to receive financial assistance at the post-graduate opportunities that they choose, including trade school, military enlistment, two-year college and four-year college.

“This expansion represents a lasting commitment to our community and to the next generation of our students,” Jones told the crowd. “We are excited to see how this promise will continue to transform the lives of our students and open doors to higher education for many years to come.”

For more information on the Arkadelphia Promise and the details of receiving the scholarship, visit http://www.arkadelphiapromise.com or call Jones at 870-403-2965.