Stephens Family Gives $25M to Episcopal Collegiate School

Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock (file).

The Harriet and Warren Stephens Family Foundation is giving $25 million to support Episcopal Collegiate School, the private, independent college preparatory school in Little Rock that marked its 25th anniversary on Thursday.

Members of the Stephens family announced the donation during a founder’s day celebration at an all-school chapel service on Thursday.

“As we reflect on the past 25 years, we are so proud of what the School’s community has accomplished and look forward to what’s to come,” Harriet Stephens said in a news release. “It is our great hope that Episcopal Collegiate School continues to fulfill its mission and purpose for future generations.”

The Stephenses said the donation to the Episcopal Collegiate Foundation will help support academic excellence and enhance the long-term sustainability of the school, which is the state’s only accredited Episcopal school.

Jamie Griffin, the head of the school, said the donation “reflects Mr. and Mrs. Stephens’ commitment to ensuring that Episcopal Collegiate School provides an exceptional educational experience.”

The Stephens Foundation said the money will support school facilities, faculty and staff compensation and keep tuition “at a level that enables access to as many students as possible.”

The foundation said there is a funding gap of about $6,600 per student between tuition revenue and operating expenses.

“The School manages this fiscal gap through annual and capital giving as well as an annual draw from its endowment which is managed by an independent Foundation Board of Directors,” the foundation said.

According to the school’s website, tuition ranges from $8,600 for part-time pre-K students to $17,900 for students in grades six to 12.

The Stephens family, including Stephens Inc. of Little Rock CEO Warren Stephens, led an effort beginning in 1996 to found the school, which opened in the fall 1998 as The Cathedral Middle School.

In a news release, Harriet Stephens said a group of parents aimed “to create a school focused on personal and academic excellence.

“We believed that high quality education has the power to be transformative, and in the spirit of the Episcopal tradition, wanted to provide a meaningful and inclusive educational experience to the children of Central Arkansas,” she said.

In 2000, the school moved from a temporary site to its current location at 1701 Cantrell Road. Named in honor of Warren Stephens’ father, the Jackson T. Stephens campus expanded to include an upper school in 2001.

In 2003, the school changed its name to Episcopal Collegiate School. The following year, Jackson T. Stephens and Warren and Harriet Stephens donated $30 million to establish a permanent endowment for the school foundation. The Stephenses have supported the school with additional donations in the years since.

According to the foundation, today the school has students representing 37 zip codes throughout central Arkansas. It said its average Advanced Placement Test pass rate exceeds 90%, compared to 51% in Arkansas and 65% globally.