The Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer will be the keynote speaker at El Dorado High School’s Academic Signing Day in May. According to a news release from the El Dorado Education Foundation, Stephen Jones will headline this event that recognizes about 300 graduating seniors who will receive the Promise scholarship.
Jones is a University of Arkansas alumnus who was a linebacker for the Razorbacks. The Little Rock native graduated in 1988 with a degree in chemical engineering. He manages the Cowboys franchise’s more than 400 employees and oversees player contracts and stadium operations.
The $50 million El Dorado Promise scholarship program is funded by El Dorado-based Murphy Oil Corp. The promise scholarship pays up to 100 percent of college tuition and fees.
More than 85 percent of last year’s Promise scholars are attending college, according to Sylvia Thompson who directs the El Dorado Promise scholarship for the school district. This college-going rate vastly exceeds the state average of 50.1 percent and a nationwide rate of 65.9 percent, based on Arkansas Department of Higher Education data.
The El Dorado Promise Foundation is tracking big increases in Advanced Placement course offerings and enrollment. This spring, 415 students will take 828 AP exams, a new record for the school district.
Promise scholarship recipients are able to attend any two- or four-year college or university nationwide. The El Dorado High School class of 2016 will sign letters of intent to 34 institutions.
This scholarship fund has touched almost 1,800 students who’ve attended 65 colleges over the past nine years.
The annual signing day is set for Friday, May 13, at 1:30 p.m. in the El Dorado High School Wildcat Arena.
