BUCKNER — For years, schools have been looking for a reasonable way to bring career opportunities into high schools to help students understand their options.
From there, Jobs for America’s Graduates, a national nonprofit program founded in 1980 and now operating in 39 states, was born. The program was officially introduced at Oldham County High School, and they decided to start there to make the classes available countywide, with the hope of making them available at JCPS in the coming years.
What is the JAG Program? The JAG Program is a class for students of all grades that teaches about opportunities in the community and expands career options.
As this is the program’s first year in Oldham County, teachers and administrators handpicked students who demonstrate leadership potential. For the next few years, there will be an application process that is currently being developed. The primary focus of the class, through college and career readiness coach Angela Lange, is to equip students with the skills to be “homegrown leaders.”
This class is extremely beneficial to students and the community at large as it develops community leaders through work-based learning trips that include community service, college tours, tours of career opportunities such as Ford, and even tours of small town businesses on Main Street.
For professions where on-the-job learning experiences aren’t available, we invite guest lecturers into our classes to help you understand all about the profession – examples include military personnel and construction workers.
When asked how he hopes to change the stigma that first-year students are guinea pigs for the program, Lange said, “I hope that at the end of the year, students feel like they’ve grown as people, that they understand their strengths, that they’ve found an area in which they can contribute to the community when they graduate and be a valuable part of Oldham County, whether that’s going on to school, getting a job or joining the military. That’s very important to me.”
In an interview, Lange made it abundantly clear that the benefits of the program are unique.
“For students who have barriers that prevent them from continuing on to college or a career, the benefit of this program is that they can find something they’re excited about and passionate about,” she said, “I also like that it gives every student who participates an opportunity for leadership and allows them to contribute to Oldham County.”
The JAG program is so important in helping students learn about opportunities they have access to but perhaps don’t know about. Having this program in a local school allows students to learn things they never thought would help them in their development.
