Diplomas and Jobs For DeKalb Graduates

Posted on June 12, 2014 by | 2 Comments

Jobs for Georgia GraduatesBarely managing to graduate every other student that enters high school, DeKalb Schools had a 59% graduation rate in 2013. In an attempt to increase graduation rates and help students find an on-ramp into the middle class, the DeKalb Schools Board voted to participate in the Jobs for Georgia Graduates (JGG) program.
The Jobs for Georgia Graduates Program has partnered with the Georgia Department of Labor and is a state affiliate of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Program. JAG programs help underserved students overcome barriers to graduation through mentoring, tutoring, academic support and links to social services among other interventions.
40 to 45 students will be selected to participate from each of these five high schools: Cross Keys High School, Clarkston High School, Lithonia High School, Ronald E. McNair High School, and Towers High School.  JGG includes a Job Specialist assigned to each school to provide services to targeted students. Students will be selected by an advisory committee composed of a school administrator, counselor, vocational education teacher, basic skills teacher and the job specialist. Students will be targeted that have educational as well as personal barriers to academic and employment success.
The Jobs for Georgia’s Graduates program currently operates in 22 schools elsewhere in the state.  Last year, the program boasted a 96% graduation rate and 87% successful outcomes, meaning students went on to post-secondary education, employment, or some combination of the two.

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2 responses to “Diplomas and Jobs For DeKalb Graduates”

  1. Murphey | June 12, 2014 at 1:12 PM |

    Thank you for the extra info. I am very glad to have this program in DCSD. I checked out the JAG program online and it is impressive.
    However, it will only affect 225 students at most. We must NOT let DCSD off the hook as far as improving the graduation rate. There are 5850 students in these 5 schools:
    Clarkston 1523 students 53.8% grad rate
    Cross Keys 1150 students 43.5% grad rate
    Lithonia 1315 students 57.5% grad rate
    McNair 869 students 46.6% grad rate
    Towers 993 students 44.1% grad rate
    (data from Oct 2013 FTE and 2013 CCRPI)

  2. Stan Jester | June 12, 2014 at 3:28 PM |

    Murphey, Excellent point.
    This model could be effective and financially viable. While the cost to DeKalb Schools is $250,000 in RT3 funds for roughly 200+ students, the actual price tag is hidden. AT&T contributed $1 million to the JAG program nationally and each school is assigned a Job Specialist employed by the Georgia Department of Labor.
    “Baby Steps”, born from the movie What About Bob?, is what I would say here. I’m intrigued by the concept and happy that 200+ students will have a much better chance of graduating.