JBU Expands Access to Career Learning for NWA High School Students

SILOAM SPRINGS, Arkansas (June 9, 2026) - John Brown University announced new programs to expand access to career-connected learning for high school students in Northwest Arkansas.

A grant from the Walton Family Foundation will provide $294,941 to expand equitable access to computer science programs and $146,870 to expand JBU's Summer Academy career exploration programming that focuses on additional high-demand sectors. Both initiatives will prioritize career-connected learning for high school students from low-income backgrounds in rural and smaller school districts in Benton and Washington Counties.

"Northwest Arkansas is experiencing tremendous economic growth, but not all students have equal access to the pathways that lead to high-demand careers," said Ted Song, Ph.D., chief innovation officer at JBU. "JBU continues to expand as a regional connector - partnering with school districts to remove barriers to computer science education and career exploration, so that all high school students in Northwest Arkansas have an opportunity to thrive in our region's workforce."

JBU's first initiative will create a 16-week, online Python programming course, offered each fall, for NWA high school students that earns both high school and college credit. In the spring, JBU will launch a program for computer science professionals to earn a teaching certificate and become academically qualified to serve as instructors for the Python course in future semesters, expanding capacity.

JBU will collaborate on its concurrent approach with NWA public high schools to remove financial barriers for local students while creating clear, early pathways into high-demand technology careers.

The second initiative will build on nearly a decade of successful summer programming by expanding the capacity of JBU's residential Summer Academy to allow high school sophomores through seniors to explore high-demand career programs, including healthcare, engineering, criminal justice, construction, sports medicine, business operations and more. JBU will also launch a 9th Grade Career Explorer Day program to allow younger students to sample multiple career pathways before selecting a residential track in later years. Need-based scholarships for NWA students will be available using an income-based sliding scale.

"Scholarship support opens doors that have been closed to too many talented students in our region," said Ryan Ladner, Ph.D., JBU vice president for enrollment management. "Our summer academy can now serve students from districts and backgrounds who might have difficulty accessing career-connected learning opportunities."

These new initiatives will enable NWA students to explore high-demand fields, build foundational skills and identify concrete steps such as advanced coursework, career and technical education pathways, certifications or future work-based opportunities.

John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas' top-ranked regional university (U.S. News) and No. 2 private university (The Wall Street Journal), JBU enrolls more than 2,500 students from 34 states and 43 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers over 50 undergraduate majors, with top programs including business, nursing, visual arts, engineering, teacher education, psychology, computer science, construction management, graphic design, family and human services, and engineering. Twelve graduate degrees are available in business, counseling and cybersecurity.

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