UALR makes "promise" to send Jacksonville High students to college
A new flag flies outside of Jacksonville High School as a signal of promise to Jacksonville High School students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"I can see a difference in the building today," Marye Jane Brockinton, Jacksonville High School Assistant Principal, said Thursday.
On Wednesday, the high school and university announced to students their partnership to ensure a pathway to college. It was a promise financially backed by Larry Wilson, President and CEO of Arkansas Bank and Trust of Jacksonville.
According to UALR, Wilson announced a gift of $25,000 from his family’s Wilson Charitable Trust to provide financial support to Jacksonville Promise students in their freshman year at UALR.
The first student to sign up was Darryl Kimbel-Brooks.
"I took advantage of it and took the pen to the paper and signed my name," Kimbel-Brooks said.
He told KATV he has always wanted to go to college, but this makes it possible.
"You saved my life because honestly money is tight and you just made that free for me," Kimbel-Brooks said.
Brockinton said students like Kimbel-Brooks will be guaranteed an acceptance to UALR and will have help on campus with finding scholarships and grants.
"It will not only be changing for this high school, it will be changing for our new school district and be a true changer for the community of Jacksonville," Brockinton said.
Both juniors and seniors can sign the Jacksonville Promise, but students must have a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.5, an ACT score of at least a 19 and they must have completed the college prep core at the time of graduation.
