News Release: JAG-K Adds 23 New Programs for 2022-2023

TOPEKA – Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) has added 23 new programs for the 2022-2023 school year, bringing its number to 104 programs in 48 school districts across the state.

This fall, JAG-K opened programs in five communities in which it previously had no presence, while it also increased its number of programs in urban areas like Wichita, Kansas City, Topeka and Junction City. The program anticipates serving approximately 5,500 students in the 2022-2023 school year, an increase of about 1,200 students.

(See below a list of new JAG-K programs for the 2022-2023 school year)

“We are excited to add 23 new programs this year, because it allows us to help more students achieve successful futures,” said JAG-K President and CEO Chuck Knapp. “JAG-K career specialists have been helping students prepare for post-secondary success for more than nine years, and that record of positive outcomes has earned us widespread support.

“Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Legislature appropriated additional funding for our program in the 2023 fiscal year state budget, and we have also benefitted from increased support from corporate and private sources. These diverse streams of financial support are allowing us to keep up with increased costs and simultaneously grow and impact more students.”

Of the 40 states that have offered Jobs for America’s Graduates Programs over the past 40 years, the Kansas affiliate is the fastest to establish 100 programs. JAG-K is celebrating its tenth year this school year.

JAG-K programs are now in 86 multi-year high schools and 13 middle schools. JAG-K also has five alternate education programs and five ‘transition’ programs dedicated to serving students in foster care.

JAG-K helps students prepare for post-secondary education and employment opportunities. JAG-K programs across the state reported a graduation rate of 95 percent for the Class of 2021. That total exceeded the state of Kansas’ total graduation rate of 88 percent.

JAG-K recorded a full-time positive outcomes rate of 86 percent, which means that number of 2021 graduates are either in post-secondary education, military service or in the workforce full-time one year after graduation. Seventy-two percent of graduates of 2021 are employed, with 84 percent of those reporting they are working full time.

JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades 6-12 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 not-for-profit 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 (DCF). In addition to school districts and DCF, JAG-K partners with the Kansas Department of Education. Other JAG-K funding sources include ADM, AT&T, Evergy, Goldstein Charitable Trust, John Deere, the Kansas Health Foundation, the Kansas Insurance Department, the Kansas State Bank Commissioner, Stormont Vail Health, Synchrony Financial, the Taco Bell Foundation, the City of Topeka, United Way of the Plains and Walmart.

To learn more about JAG-K, visit www.jagkansas.org, ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas’ on Facebook, and on Twitter at @JAG_Kansas.

Augusta 2 (in addition to one current program)

Dodge City 1 and 2

Eudora

Fort Riley Middle School

JC Harmon 1- 6

KC Schlagle 3 and 4 (in addition to two current programs)

KC Washington 3, 4

KC Wyandotte 5

Norton

Marysville

Minneapolis

Shawnee Heights Middle School

Wichita South

Wichita Southeast 2 (in addition to one current program)

Wichita West 2 (in addition to one current program)

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