About

The Promise

The Promise provides graduates of El Dorado High School with a scholarship covering tuition and mandatory fees that can be used at any accredited two- or four-year, public or private educational institution in the US. The maximum amount payable is up to the highest annual resident tuition at an Arkansas public university

A Decade of Promise

The El Dorado Promise celebrated its tenth anniversary in January 2017. The community marked the occasion with several events and festivities. The School District hosted “Promise Week” throughout the District, which included Honor Day, which honored all District staff; College Day which had the entire town clad in college t-shirts and college recruiters visiting the middle, junior high and high schools; Career Day which brought guest speakers into the schools to talk about how college afforded them the opportunity to pursue their careers. The week culminated with a community pep rally at the courthouse.

Ten years is a significant milestone. Ten years means that the seniors of 2017 were in second grade when the Promise was announced. They probably weren’t thinking about what college they would go to at that point, but the Promise was making sure that they could go when the time came.

About 1
About 2

The El Dorado Promise has done so much for me and my future already. Without the promise, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to pick where I went to school. I would’ve also had to get a job while in college to help pay for my dues. The Promise allowed me to fulfill my dreams of furthering my education. The Promise has truly been a blessing to not only me, but to my family as well. My family would not be able to afford for me to go to the University of Arkansas, where I currently attend.
I wouldn’t be able to get my degree in Physical Education and help shape the lives of the future young men and women in our society. Although I wasn’t able to fulfill my 3rd grade dreams of being in the NFL, I plan on helping others chase their dreams of playing college sports and furthering their education. I am truly blessed to have grown up in El Dorado and experienced the Promise. I am also thankful for Murphy Oil for doing such a good deed for all the young people in our community.
-John Sixbey, EHS, 2016, University of Arkansas

Ten years means that the first Promise Class will celebrate their ten-year high school reunion in the summer 2017

No doubt many of them will return to El Dorado, they will reconnect with high school friends, reminisce about their high school memories, reflect on how their lives were then and how they have changed. And they will remember that day, January 22, 2007, when they were called to a special assembly in the school gymnasium. It was then that they were told that they were receiving a gift – a gift of $50 million – to share with their classmates and underclassmen and students who would come after them. A gift that would change their future plans. A gift that would change their lives. A gift that would change El Dorado. A gift that continues to reap rewards for them ten years later.

About Our El Dorado School District Scholarship

The El Dorado Promise is a unique scholarship program that provides the opportunity for a college education for nearly every single graduate of El Dorado High School, regardless of their financial or academic standing.

The program, which was initially established back in 2006, is funded by Murphy Oil Corporation, which has served as an economic engine for this boomtown, located just north of the Louisiana border.

Murphy Oil Corporation set up the fund with its initial $50 million investment with the idea that any student that successfully graduated from El Dorado High School, and had been enrolled in
the school district since ninth grade at the least, is entitled to scholarship money to attend any regionally-accredited public or private college or university.

The Promise in El Dorado provides students with the rare opportunity to gain a college education without the financial stresses and hardships that so often accompany the experience.

Earning a scholarship for the El Dorado Promise

Students that have been in the El Dorado School District from kindergarten through 12th grade receive 100 percent of the scholarship money, which equals the highest in-state public university rate. Unfortunately, students that enter the district after ninth grade are not eligible for this El Dorado High School scholarship.

Students can renew the scholarship for the El Dorado Promise for five consecutive years and must maintain a 2.0 grade point average or higher while completing 12 credit hours each semester.

Virtually unlimited educational opportunities through the El Dorado Promise

A student’s opportunity to learn and reap the bounty of higher education should not hinge on his or her socioeconomic standing. Murphy Oil Corporation is passionate about creating a culture in the public school system where students of all walks of life feel like every educational and professional opportunity is within their grasp.