Two Parsons High School student officers in Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) - Kansas joined their instructor, JAG Career Specialist Shayla Reliford, in presenting to the Lion’s Club this week, sharing about the program and its many benefits to students.
Parsons USD 503 has proudly partnered with the program for many years, adding to its arsenal of support to help students meet with success.
JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades 6-12 that offers tools to successfully transition them into post-secondary school, the military, or directly into the workforce with marketable skills. The program helps students overcome challenges they face that put them at-risk of not attaining educational and career success.
The program is an elective course at PHS. Students engage in a competency-based curriculum that includes project-based learning, critical thinking, public speaking, work-based learning, leadership opportunities and employability skills. Participants learn how to interview for a job, prepare for future careers, write business plans and much more.
Using the business plan as an example, Reliford said when she gives the students a project of that magnitude, the students are often scared, because she is not guiding them through it like a traditional educator.
“I’m giving them the template and the resources to get through it, but they are basically going to teach me, based on what they have researched and developed on their own to produce a quality public product, and those things are typically amazing,” Reliford said. “The innovation of these young people is bar none, one of the most fulfilling experiences that I’ve had being a career specialist for JAG-K. Because they are just not sure they have this capacity in high school, when you give them that platform to express themselves creatively and innovatively, they come up with some amazing public products.”
JAG-K includes competencies of career development, employability skills and a three-tiered model of employer engagement. There is an employer engagement framework to make sure students know what they are walking into in a career. As much as possible, JAG connects students with real-world opportunities and professionals who, in the final tier of the process, provide job shadowing, apprenticeship or internship opportunities.Through the program students will also earn at least two approved post secondary assets, such as a WorkKeys Silver level or higher, meeting ASVAB requirements in a selected branch of service, 40 or more community service hours, or other assets from the list.
Next year JAG is rolling out micro credentialing for practical job attainment and survival skills, so all the students will have employable micro credentials when they graduate like mock interviews, resume writing, cover letter creation, job application mastery, financial literacy, work ethic and punctuality, time management and verbal and written communication.
JAG also offers a wide array of state and national events for students to participate in: the Regional Leadership Development Conference; the National Student Leadership Academy; JAG-K Day at the Capitol; local and regional career development conferences; State Career Development Conference; National Career Development Conference; and Senior Days at the Capital.
Through these experiences, students have an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than they are, competing in different events and networking with students and others across the state and nation.
Reliford said one of her favorite things about the program is the 12-month follow-up, a 12-month period after graduating from JAG-K during which she contacts each of them monthly to see how they are doing and see if they need further help or support to meet with success through what can be a scary transition time. The goal is full-time positive outcomes. In other words, students having post secondary employment, military enlistment, or post secondary education.
PHS JAG Parliamentarian, Kaydee Garduno, and PHS JAG President, Blane Beery, spoke to the Lions about their personal experiences in JAG and how it has positively impacted them.
Beery said when he started in JAG as a freshman he thought it would be an easy grade and he was just gliding through it until he was elected to an officer position. He then started participating in more events. He said he feels a strong connection with Reliford, who stepped into the position this year after Mark Pound retired. He said Reliford is pushing students to new levels of accomplishment.
Beery added JAG provides him lots of opportunities, and his passions for success are growing under her leadership.
Garduno said there are definitely a lot more opportunities. Along with that comes a lot more work for students, but Garduno said the students actually appreciate that.
“It’s a better learning experience,” Garduno said. “I think my goal from JAG for the future is I want to get a lot more connections with people.”
Reliford has an MBA and has worked in JAG-K for more than 7 years. She worked with students in Coffeyville before coming to PHS this year.
Reliford welcomes opportunities to share with groups and organizations more about JAG-K and what students are doing. She said she will bring different students to each presentation they make in the community, affording them all opportunities for public speaking and socialization with people they could find themselves working with in the future.
“In high school we hear a lot about anxiety. They don’t like talking to adults. It’s so scary. One thing they have to overcome is that anxiety to plan viable futures,” Reliford said.