Jobs for America’s Graduates, a state-based and national non-profit organization that is dedicated to high school completion and post-secondary success for young people, has expanded and is now serving students in all five Greene County school corporations.

The first Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program began at Eastern Greene High School as part of the state’s pilot in late 2006 with the first class beginning in January 2007.

The program is funded through grants provided by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. In August 2023, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced a statewide initiative to increase the number of JAG programs in Indiana from 125 to 250 by January 2025.

This allowed for substantial growth in Greene County by adding high school programs at Bloomfield and Linton-Stockton in January 2024. At the start of the upcoming school year, Greene County will add a high school program at Shakamak and middle school programs at Bloomfield, Eastern Greene, and White River Valley. Programs typically range from 35 to 50 students.

“This expansion effort has brought the opportunity for the JAG program to grow exponentially. In Greene County alone, this expansion has allowed for 210-360 additional students to be served,” said Sam Perkins, Region 8 JAG Manager.

The high school programs focus on graduation preparation, career pathway development, leadership skills, job attainment, and post-secondary education preparation while the middle school programs focus on grade level transition, study skills development, behavior, confidence, and self-esteem.

It is a class in which students receive credit. Through JAG, students participate in project-based learning, work-based learning, and community service.

Eastern Greene was recently recognized at the JAG Indiana State Conference for the highest number of community service hours per student. The group had the third highest number of hours per student the previous year. Eastern Greene Specialist Jayme Bellman and her students complete several community service projects throughout the year including a Riley Dance Marathon and career expo.

Students learn in various ways, including hosting guest speakers and touring local businesses.

The program helps students learn in-demand employability skills and provides a bridge to post-secondary education and career advancement opportunities. Students receive mentoring while in school and one year of follow-up counseling after graduation.

“JAG not only allows students to get hands on experience through project-based learning, our JAG specialists create opportunity through local employer engagement, guest speakers, and field trips to help students find out what they want to do after graduation,” Perkins said.

JAG Indiana has had more than 40,000 participants since its inception in 2006 and its success speaks for itself.

Indiana’s JAG Class of 2023 had 125 programs with a 96 percent graduation rate, while the statewide graduation rate was 87 percent. The JAG national goal is a 90 percent graduation rate. Students in the JAG Class of 2023 secured $23.3 million in scholarships.

Greene County is part of JAG’s Region 8 and also includes the following schools: Bedford North Lawrence, Brown County, Edgewood, Mitchell, Owen Valley, Paoli, and Washington.

If you or your business or organization is interested in getting involved with one of Greene County’s JAG programs by being a guest speaker or hosting a tour, please contact: Perkins at Samuel.Perkins@vinu.edu.