On Its Ten-Year Anniversary, JAG-K Celebrates Reaching Over 100 Programs Made Available and On Offer to Students Statewide

Jobs for America’s Graduates, Dec. 7, 2022 – Click for original article

Jobs for America’s Graduates–Kansas (’JAG-K’), the State Affiliate to Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), a national organization whose mission is to empower the nation’s young people with the skills and support to succeed in education, employment, and life, is commemorating its tenth year-anniversary of service in unique fashion by celebrating JAG Kansas becoming the youngest state affiliate in the organization’s 41 year history to, as of 2022, host over 100 programs statewide.

JAG-K is a 501(c)3 non-profit that partners with public schools to offer an elective class that provides academic and other positive support to ensure students earn their diploma. By exploring career opportunities and practicing soft skills, students are prepared to successfully transition to post-secondary education, military service, or into the workforce following their graduation.

“Celebrating ten years of service to the students of Kansas has provided an opportunity for reflection on the history of JAG-K,” stated the affiliate’s President and CEO Chuck Knapp. “To be the fastest JAG affiliate to reach 100 programs speaks volumes about the people who made it happen, including three governors and many legislative leaders who saw the value JAG-K provided to the state. It is a testament to the quality work done by our staff and career specialists. And it certainly wouldn’t have happened without the financial support of both the public and private sectors.”

JAG-K accomplished this unique milestone in academia and the nonprofit space by adding 23 new programs across the state during the 2022-2023 school year, today proudly operating 104 programs in 48 school districts across Kansas, reaching 86-multi-year high schools, 13 middle schools, 5 alternative education programs, and 5 “transitional” programs dedicated to serving students in foster care in the process.

JAG-K recently received JAG National’s prestigious ’5-of-5 Award’, bestowed upon state affiliates that exceed all five of JAG’s performance metrics aimed at graduation and employment, including achieving exceptional employment rates, full-time employment, total full-time positive outcomes and education rates.

The results for JAG’s Class of 2021 across the country exceed national averages across numerous performance indicators. They include:

• A graduation rate of nearly 96% – (The national average of all 18—19-year-olds is below 84%.)
• A jobs rate of nearly 65%, and the full-time jobs rate was nearly 83% – both the highest in JAG’s history.
• An unemployment rate of 6.25%, while the rate for all 18–19-year-olds was 10.4% – about 40% lower.
• JAG boosted its post-secondary education rate from 40.5% for the Class of 2020 to a remarkable 46.55% for the Class of 2021. For reference, the national enrollment rates decreased by 10–15% for the second year in a row while JAG’s increased by nearly 15%.

JAG’s Board has further recently adopted an aggressive strategy – Youth Opportunities and Outcomes 2024 – with four priorities: 1) Invest in the JAG Network; 2) Serve More Young People; 3) Tell the JAG Story; and 4) Increase Outcomes through Enhanced Services. Its major goals include to double the scale of the organization in order to meet the needs of youth and young adults across the country, while simultaneously enhancing services to include dual enrollment opportunities and securing credentials that “matter” in the communities where JAG students live, so that they can secure a better-than-entry-level job upon exiting the program.

Ken Smith, President of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) stated that, “For over 40 years, Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) has delivered for our students of great promise, those today facing both known and unprecedented challenges which can potentially jeopardize their chances at success. We are tremendously proud of and grateful to the Team at JAG-Kansas for setting such an exceptional Statewide precedent and milestone for other State affiliates to follow. That said, we know there is still work to be done to safeguard the opportunity to provide meaningful ’Jobs for America’s Graduates’ in 2022 and in the years to come”.

About JAG – KANSAS

JAG-K is a 501(c)3 non-profit that partners with public schools to offer an elective class that provides academic and other positive support to ensure students earn their diploma. By exploring career opportunities and practicing soft skills, students are prepared to successfully transition to post-secondary education, military service, or into the workforce following their graduation.

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

About JOBS FOR AMERICA’S GRADUATES (JAG)

The JAG National Network has a footprint across 1,500 communities in 39 states and impacts more than 75,000 youth annually. JAG graduates consistently achieve outstanding results, including a 95.85% graduation rate. JAG graduates are 230% more likely to be employed full-time compared to their peers, and twice as likely to go to college. For more information, visit https://jag.org.