JAG-K program helps Royal Valley students with careers

The Royal Valley High School Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) program has been helping district students finish high school and identify a career path for several years.

At the USD 337 Board of Education meeting on May 13, board members learned more about the program from Anna Lein, the district’s JAG-K specialist, and sophomore Elizabeth Hopkins and senior Olivia Cook. 

JAG-K is an elective class offered at RVHS that gives students the opportunity to explore different career fields.

The program is primarily funded with a federal grant administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

“Our overall vision for the entire program is that we want all our students to succeed,” Lein said. “Our students have to meet certain criteria to participate. They don’t always have all the resources that a typical student may have. So we select those students in need and give them extra resources and extra time to think about graduating high school and then pursuing something successful beyond that – whether that would be getting a job, finding a college that fits them or entering the military. Just something that is a positive outcome for them.” 

Lein said there are 62 RVHS students involved in the program this year. In order to qualify for JAG, a student must have at least six “barriers to success,” such as being one or more grade levels behind their peers, low academic performance, their mother or father did not graduate from high school, they have a disability, etc.

“The average number of barriers Royal Valley students have is about 13,” she said. 

As part of the class, the students take field trips to learn about different careers, hear from speakers and participate in project-based learning activities. 

As part of the program, Lein checks in with the JAG-K students monthly for a year after they’ve graduated to see if they have any career or education updates.

RVHS is part of a regional group of JAG-K programs, and Lein said that junior Binx Kitchkommie was recently selected to serve as regional vice president for the next school year.

Cook and Hopkins both said that JAG-K has opened their eyes to different opportunities.  

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