The West Liberty School Board heard an update on the high school’s participation in the iJAG program at its Aug. 21 meeting.
iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates) is a statewide, state-funded program for high school juniors and seniors and was created as a school-to-work program. Since 1999. iJAG has mentored more than 20,000 students statewide who were at the highest risk of disengaging from school or dropping out of school without the skills and motivation needed to succeed in higher education and the workforce. This is the third year West Liberty has participated in iJAG.
The program supports students in the areas of career exploration, character and self-development, communication and technology skills, critical thinking and productivity, life skills, self-advocacy and conflict resolution, and work-based learning.
15 wait for openings in 50-student class
Meredith Schanz, district iJAG specialist, told the board that the program, which caps out at 50 students for the district, will see 21 students returning this year, with 29 spots for new students. There are currently 15 students on a waiting list to join the program. “It’s very encouraging to see our program maxing out in year three,” said Schanz. Students can voluntarily join but can also be recommended by faculty.
This year’s advisory panel will include Schanz, high school principal Brenda Arthur-Miller, assistant principal Andrew Genz, English teacher Erica Jennings, counselors Steph Paulson and Andrea Schultice, special education teacher Brittany Boffeli, and ag education/electives teacher Zach Morris.
Schanz said that the program usually receives a large number of applicants, and the advisory committee helps select the students for the year.
There is no set curriculum for iJAG. Instead, classes focus on individual students and their needs. “My first year, we had a lot of students that were focused more on trade school and right to the workforce, so that’s the curriculum that we focused on. This past year, we had a lot of our students that were ready to go to a community college, so that was a lot of the focus that we had last year,” said Schanz. “We offer different things in class depending on what’s happening with those students and what their goals and plans are.”
iJAG also focuses on “project-based learning,” which often means no tests, homework or quizzes. “We know that a student that’s going through the process of applying to Kirkwood is going to be very different than a student that’s applying to go to the military, and so we don’t have the exact same assignments or the exact same curriculum, because it wouldn’t be beneficial to both of them,” explained Schanz. She added that the focus on individualized attention is part of what keeps the class sizes so small.
iJAG’s goals include a 90 percent graduation rate, and an 80 percent job or post-secondary placement within 12 months of graduating high school.
Last year, 27 of the 28 seniors in the program graduated on time, with an average GPA of 2.87, which was an increase over an average GPA of 2.37 at the beginning of the year. Students in the program also reduced the number of “F’ grades from 1.6 per student to 0.7 at the end of the school year. Forty-seven students in the program participated in job shadows, and 26 attended at least one student leadership event. Students also are encouraged to participate in fundraisers, volunteering, and other team-building events through the program.
At the end of the 2022-23 school year, 16 students said they would be attending community college (mostly Kirkwood), seven would be going straight to the workforce, and three said they planned to attend a four-year university. Schanz said that 100 percent of the graduating iJAG students had a plan for after high school, compared to only 52 percent of those students at the beginning of the school year. She added that 94.7 percent of the students that were surveyed said they were leaving high school with a more positive outlook on their future and the confidence they needed to succeed after joining the iJAG program.
Schanz also provides support to West Liberty students for 12 months after they graduate, with everything from helping them select college courses to helping apply for jobs and getting references. She said all the students who graduated in May had continued to participate in post-graduation support. “Which, if you know a teenager, getting them to respond to a text message about school is pretty difficult. So I’m very impressed so far with their response to me,” said Schanz. “Hopefully we can continue that for the next nine months.”
Job shadow opportunities included the West Liberty Police Department, vet clinics in West Liberty and West Branch, medical clinics in Iowa City, and Kent in Muscatine. Schanz said it was important to make sure students knew about the multiple places they could find a career.
“We’re still pretty new, but we’re on the right track,” said Schanz.
Fundraising request
The board approved a fundraising request from the girls’ wrestling team to sell Scratch cupcakes.
Construction update
Superintendent Shaun Kruger presented a change order for the Early Learning Center for $1,444.87 to add a fire alarm bell to the outside of the building to comply with state code. The board approved the request.
Personnel
As part of the consent agenda, the board approved the following personnel changes:
• The resignation of Amanda Ruiz, elementary paraprofessional;
• The hiring of Maria Otero, elementary and Early Learning Center paraprofessional, at $15.15 per hour;
• The hiring of Ana Rivera, food service employee, at $14 per hour for six-and-a-half hours per day.
The next regular board meeting will be Monday, Sept. 18. Preliminary agenda items include the district’s Certified Annual Report and the Special Education Finance Report.