As our first semester of the 2021-2022 school year comes close to an end, you may be wondering what classes are available for you next year. Or, if you aren’t a student, you may be wondering what classes CHS offers its students. One class to consider is Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), which is a national program that began in Delaware in 1979 and has since grown to 1,451 programs among 40 states. Currently, CHS only offers this class to juniors and seniors. Our local JAG teacher, Mr. Karl Turk (you may also know him as one of Cloverdale High School’s Spanish teachers or basketball coaches), provided me with some more information about the class. 

Mr. Turk says that the JAG program is designed to help students have successful outcomes during and after high school through project-based learning, trauma-informed care, and employer engagement. He says that JAG is useful and beneficial to any student whether they plan to go to college, go directly into the workplace, go into the military, or are unsure and want to explore their options. The curriculum is designed to develop the whole person and is “comprehensive and practical, meaning it covers and refines traditional academic subject matter, dives into real-world practices and concepts, and it maintains a level of fluidity and responsiveness that meets the needs of the whole student.” “We like to say it is that program that gets any student from point A to the desired B in life and covers all those things that society often wishes was covered in school.”

The JAG mission is “to help young people of great promise succeed both in school and on the job, leading to productive and rewarding careers.” JAG participants boast an increased graduation rate of 95% compared to 84%. Mr. Turk mentioned that “90% of students from the class of 2020 are engaged in full-time work, military, post-secondary education or some combination.” He also added that “a unique feature of the program is that the teacher, called a specialist, commits to following up with graduates at least once a month after graduation to assist with the transition from high school.” If you have any questions you can contact the guidance counselor or Mr. Turk. 

facebook.com/cloverdale.jag.16

Sources:
https://www.indianacareerready.com/JAG

https://jag.org/

Karl Turk (CHS JAG teacher)