Hays High JAG-K program earns top national honor

Hays Post, Sept. 20, 2021 – click to see the original article

TOPEKA — The Hays High School Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas program has earned the prestigious “5 of 5 Award” for 2021. 

The evidence-based program helps students prepare for post-secondary education and employment opportunities. JAG-K programs across the state, serving approximately 4,000 students, reported a graduation rate of 97 percent for the Class of 2020. 

The 5 of 5 Award is bestowed upon those JAG programs that meet or exceed performance measures in five categories: graduation rate, successful outcomes, employment, post-secondary enrollment and job placement. JAG has a 12-month follow-up period with all seniors as part of its evidence-based, data-driven national model. 

The JAG national organization announced that for the seventh consecutive year, JAG-K earned the Jobs for America’s Graduates State 5 of 5 Award. 

“To receive the 5 of 5 Award for the seventh year in a row is special. But it’s an even more impressive accomplishment by our Career Specialists and staff to achieve it during the pandemic,” said JAG-K President/CEO Chuck Knapp. “The JAG model proved in the face of adversity to effectively prepare students for successful futures.

“We are proud of each of our schools who qualified for this JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades seven through 12 that offers tools to successfully transition students into post-secondary school, the military, or directly into the workforce with marketable skills. Participants in the program face multiple barriers to success that their JAG-K Career Specialist helps them overcome through a nationally-accredited, evidence-based model. 

The 501(c)3 nonprofit organization is a state affiliate of the national JAG program network which operates in 40 different states and territories. It is primarily funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant to the State of Kansas administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families. In addition to school districts and DCF, JAG-K partners with the Kansas Department of Education. Other JAG-K funding sources include AT&T, Capitol Federal, John Deere, Synchrony Financial and Taco Bell.