A two-pronged program that started last year with Greene County High School was recently approved to continue for this upcoming school year.

The Greene County School Board approved the 9th-10th and 11th-12th grade Iowa’s Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) programs at their July meeting. Superintendent Brett Abbotts says iJAG is a non-profit organization that supports the public sector with their overall goal of helping students that face challenges to graduate high school. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio iJAG accomplishes this goal through classes on basic employability skills, work-based learning experiences, and provides academic support.

Abbotts notes that last year was the first year the district incorporated the 9th and 10th grade program and he talks about why that decision was made to include all high school grades.

“We really want to be able to target every single kid that we can. I don’t usually like to use the cliche of, ‘Kids slipping through the cracks’ or anything like that, but we want to make sure that we are providing an opportunity for every single kid who comes through our doors to have the opportunity to graduate. We see kids going into the workforce a heck of a lot earlier, so this work-based learning through iJAG does allow our kids to be able to do that but also know that they have a teacher or a support staff to be there to support them.” 

Abbotts adds about 125 students participated in the program, which is about 30-percent of the high school student population. The School Board approved the $50,000 expense using the district’s at-risk funding.