Arkadelphia: A Great Place to Call Home

We had something exciting in Arkadelphia last night. Hundreds of school kids and their parents and community members/leaders gathered in Badger Stadium. Many knew of the announcement coming. Many did not. Many came only because their children were promised big Koality points, extra recess and pizza parties if they were there. But they came none-the-less and witness Arkadelphia becoming the fourth city in the nation to issue a Promise to its students. "We'll pay for you to go to college!" That's right. The Arkadelphia Promise guarantees that any students the grows up here and has a 2.5 and a 19 on the ACT gets full tuition to the most expensive state school in Arkansas.

I sat there last night knowing that my kids get to go to a great school, Ouachita Baptist University, because Casey and I work here. But now, room and board is covered for them too. But most importantly, I knew that there high school students who had been working hard who weren't sure how they were going to pay for school...and last night, they found out they didn't have to worry about that any more. The Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, two businesses that do so much for our community, stepped up to do even more. Something only three other cities in the whole United States have done. Making Arkadelphia an even better place to call home!

Gov. Bebee was on hand for the announcement. US Secretary of Education Duncan sent a video message recorded just for the event. Of course, the most impressive part of the program (other than the announcement) was when the Perritt choir (1 graders), Central Choir (3rd grade) and Peake choir (5th grade and Ryan was in it) sang. They had been practicing for weeks and did such a fantastic job!

Ryan is the 5th "A" from the left on the front row.