Former President George W. Bush is always to address graduating seniors Thursday at an Arkansas high school exactly where students have a tremendous monetary advantage if they go to higher education because of a local program to pay their way.
Bush is scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. at El Dorado High School in the course of its Academic Signing Day ceremony, at which seniors declare exactly where they strategy to attend school, according to the classes and the Murphy Foundations.
El Dorado-based Murphy Oil Corp. has funded the $50 million El Dorado Guarantee scholarship plan since 2007. The product pays for some or all of higher education tuition for graduates from the university, as extended as they have lived within the district no less than considering ninth grade.
“President Bush wanted to recognize the El Dorado Promise and to congratulate these students. We’re honored and privileged to have him (in) El Dorado,” said R. Madison Murphy, president of the Murphy Foundation and previous leader from the oil business.
El Dorado High School has 1,400 students, half of which are eligible for totally free or decreased lunches. The school says 79 % of its 2009 graduates went to higher education, compared to 63 percent statewide and 67 percent nationally.
The scholarship software has paid out $3.6 million to 563 El Dorado High School graduates. Assure scholarships could be coupled with other scholarships to support cover room and board.
The longer a student has been inside the district, the higher the scholarship amount. The scholarship amounts top out at the highest tuition among Arkansas private and public universities.
Bush can also be scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. at Harding University in Searcy. The college says the event is free, but all the tickets have already been distributed.