In order to further build communication skills and support students to complete high school and discover success post graduation, a new program was implemented at Apollo High School over the summer. Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) is a national nonprofit organization that helps students experience and achieve success despite some of the personal and educational barriers they may have faced.
AHS held a JAG Initiation and Induction ceremony Tuesday to recognize the students in the JAG program and introduce them to members of the community.
The decision to bring the JAG program to Daviess County Public Schools was made after witnessing its success with students in Warren County, according to DCPS Director of Secondary Education Jennifer Crume.
“Partnering with an evidence-based program like JAG is a win for the students participating as well as a win for our community by providing workforce ready applicants to our labor market,” Crume said. “I am excited that DCPS and AHS are able to utilize this opportunity to provide our students with employability skills training as well as assistance in connections with our local businesses and industry.”
JAG is offered at Apollo as an elective course at all four high school grade levels using a project-based learning approach. There is also a strong emphasis placed on employer engagement, which allows students and community partners to work together in order to provide guest speakers, job site visits, and opportunities for student employment during and after high school. AHS JAG has already created several community partnerships including Wedding Orthodontics, Kroger, Independence Bank, Southern Star, and several local educational leaders who were eager to invest time in the future of students.
Apollo principal Bob Dych said he was optimistic about the opportunity for increased student engagement and has already witnessed the benefits of the program during the first 9 weeks of the school semester.
“Though Apollo’s JAG Program is still in its infancy, we have seen tangible increases in target areas of the students that are part of the program,” Dych said. “We are already experiencing growth of the program beyond what we had hoped for during its first year at Apollo.”
