By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board will consider a program Monday that would help at-risk students graduate and reach employment or post-secondary education goals.
Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas, which is also known as JAG-K, puts career specialists in schools to work with students.
The program is grant funded, but JAG-K asks participating schools to pay 10 percent of the cost of the program. In Hays, this would be $6,500 per year. The school district also has to provide a classroom and transportation. The JAG-K specialist is employed by the JAG-K program.
The program helps students with remediation to help them graduate high school, works on career planning, and enhances leadership and job skills. Students visit workplaces and colleges, participate in a career association club and perform 10 hours of community service.
JAG-K students are enrolled in classes of 10 to 15 students during the school year, but the JAG-K specialists maintain contact with the students during the summer and for 12 months after graduation. About 35 to 50 students would be enrolled in the program initially at Hays High.
The goal of the program is not only to help students graduate, but also to obtain full-time employment, enter the military or go on to post-secondary education after high school. The program has an 89 percent success rate in students entering full-time employment, military or post-secondary education after high school. Post-secondary education or certification is another goal of the state’s new accreditation program.
If JAG-K students don’t graduate, the program works with them during the next year to earn their diplomas.
JAG-K is a national program with 68 programs in 33 school districts in the state of Kansas. JAG-K reached out to Hays because it currently has no programs in northwest Kansas.
If the school district approves an agreement with the JAG-K, it would begin at Hays High School this fall.
In other business the board will:
• Consider approval of a lighting replacement bid for Roosevelt Elementary School.
• Discuss Long-range facilities planning
• Hear a report on board goals
• Hear a report on renewal of a contract with Assurance Partners, the district’s property/casualty and workers compensation consultant.