A program that has been in Indiana schools since 2006 and is aimed at helping students develop skills needed for a career will be coming to Greencastle High School and Greencastle Middle School after approval from the school board recently.
Assistant Superintendent Becky McPherson said Greencastle schools will be participating in the Jobs for America's Graduates, and the decision comes on the heels of a recent decision by Gov. Eric Holcomb.
"Recently, Governor Holcomb has increased the funding to add an additional 250 JAG programs throughout the state. JAG specialists work with students in a multi-year capacity (2 years at the high school level and three years at the middle school level) to develop the students' career readiness/association, life skills, teamwork, leadership capacity, project-based learning and college preparation," McPherson told The Putnam County Post.
Students who are in the program work through competencies that focus on the aforementioned topics, with the objective being post high school employment or higher education, according to McPherson.
"It is important to have the program at both the middle school and high school levels in order to catch our students early. We want to instill these skills into our students while in middle school in order for them to have a more successful transition to high school. In both programs the JAG specialist supports the students through the transitions, which means the specialist will conduct quarterly check-ins with the 8th grade students during their freshman year and with the high school seniors during their first year out of high school. These transition periods can be difficult for students and we want to offer as much support as we can," McPherson said.
Greencastle will become the first middle school to offer the program, and McPherson said it is vital to help middle school students who may have a difficult time understanding the "why" behind school, as credits are not earned and GPAs are not calculated.
"Additionally, we want to be sure our middle school students are given the skills needed in order to be successful in their high school classes, especially those that connect to a future career or goal. The competencies they will learn as they work with their JAG specialist will build their self-motivation and understanding behind the "why school is important" and hopefully translate to a more successful high school experience," she said.
Both McPherson and superintendent Jeff Gibboney are excited about the new JAG programs, and admit they are always exploring other new programs for students.
"We will always continue to explore new programs for students at GCSC as long as it makes sense (i.e. supports our mission/vision, makes sense financially, there is enough interest, etc.)," Gibboney said.
McPherson echoed those sentiments.
"We are always open to new programs that would benefit our students and community. At this time we do not have any specific new programs on the horizon, but GCSC is always evolving to meet the needs of all our students," she said.
