rootEd Arkansas: Year One Impact and Looking Ahead
October 27, 2025
“My rootEd advisor has been there since day one. When I didn’t think I was getting anywhere, she was there to motivate me to keep on going and to keep on trying no matter how hard it got. I believe every school in Arkansas, and maybe even the nation, should have a program like this.”
– Cheyenne, rootEd Arkansas student
Cheyenne’s story is at the heart of what rootEd Arkansas was created to do: ensure every student has the guidance, support and resources they need to thrive after high school—regardless of their zip code. In a state where nearly half of residents live in rural areas, opportunity can be shaped—and sometimes limited—by geography. Rural students in the U.S. are on average less likely to pursue postsecondary education or training, and with student-to-counselor ratios averaging 310 to 1, many young people leave high school without a clear plan. The result is a persistent gap in educational attainment and labor force participation in rural areas compared to metropolitan and suburban areas.
To bridge this gap and expand opportunity for rural Arkansas students, Heartland Forward partnered with rootEd Alliance and the Arkansas Department of Education to launch rootEd Arkansas, an initiative designed to provide individualized 1:1 guidance to each high school senior preparing for life after graduation. The national nonprofit rootEd Alliance works with states and local partners like Heartland Forward to place full-time college and career advisors in rural high schools. Advisors help students explore opportunities and create a plan for what comes next—whether that means pursuing a college degree, earning career credentials, directly entering the workforce or enlisting in the military—with the ultimate goal that every student graduates on a path to achieve career success that is aligned with their interest and skills, as well as greater economic mobility.
In Arkansas, rootEd advisors are often from the same communities they serve. They work closely with business leaders, educators and families to help connect students to local industries and job opportunities, apply for programs and scholarships and secure financial aid. As a result, more students are graduating with a plan and with the resources and confidence to follow through on it.
Year One Impact
In its 2024-2025 pilot year, rootEd Arkansas placed advisors in ten rural high schools, serving nearly 500 students. The results show how rootEd is opening doors for students and strengthening communities with measurable economic impact across rural Arkansas.
- Planning for After High School
- 99% of rootEd Arkansas seniors worked with their rootEd advisor to develop a post-high-school plan to develop a personalized plan for after graduation based on their experience, interests and goals.
- 97% of rootEd Arkansas students participated in industry tours, job shadowing or internships and discovered career pathways they may not have been familiar with.
- Two-thirds more students now plan to pursue further education or training after high school rather than entering low-wage jobs, compared to students before rootEd.
- Workforce Readiness
- Of the students entering the workforce right after high school, 80% plan to enter positions in high-growth Arkansas industries.
- The top three career training programs for rootEd Arkansas graduates are welding, electrician and certified nursing assistant (CNA) programs – all of which are designated as high-demand, high-wage jobs in Arkansas.
- 85% of students say their advisor helped them understand the full range of opportunities available to them.
- Financial Aid Access
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates across rootEd schools are 19% higher than the state average.
- rootEd Arkansas students access 2x the national average in financial aid.
- For students not pursuing college, wage projections suggest an average increase of more than $11,000 compared to peers before rootEd, in large part due to the higher proportion of students pursuing additional training or higher-wage jobs over low-wage jobs directly after high school.
Looking Ahead
Building on the success of the pilot year, rootEd Arkansas is planning for the future with a focus on expansion, collaboration and innovation. Since it launched, rootEd has supported over 1000 students across 13 rural high schools in Arkansas. Working closely alongside state leaders, employers and training providers, rootEd will continue to align student preparation with the state’s strategic workforce priorities.
rootEd is committed to ensuring that students are equipped to succeed, and at this moment, that involves preparing students to operate in an AI-driven economy. According to a recent poll conducted by Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation and Heartland Forward, just 10% of K-12 students say their teachers have helped prepare them to use AI in future jobs or education, and only 9% of working Gen Zers feel extremely prepared to use AI at work.
To fill this knowledge gap and equip students to succeed in the AI economy, Heartland Forward has partnered with the ed-tech platform Stemuli to offer a free, gamified AI literacy platform to all rootEd Arkansas schools. The tool gives students a safe and engaging way to explore how artificial intelligence can be used across different career paths and teaches them how to use technology responsibly and effectively.
As rootEd Arkansas continues to grow, discussions are also underway to bring the transformative power of individualized support and guidance through rootEd to rural students and communities in additional heartland states, expanding opportunity and accelerating talent development across the region.
To learn more about rootEd Arkansas, explore the resources below: