MANSFIELD – The 39th annual National Training Seminar for Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) took place July 11 through 15 in Las Vegas.
Hundreds of JAG Specialists, managers, trainers and administrators from across the United States came together to gain inspiration, deeper skill sets, and a more robust professional network. From GOAL Digital Academy,
Superintendent Tish Jenkins attended, who is also the Executive Director of the North Central District, serving GOAL, Delaware Hayes, Northmor, Mount Gilead and two credit recovery programs in Delaware and Marion Counties, along with JR Burns and Keith Willis, both JAG specialists.
Among the highlights of the seminar, Northmor was recognized as a 5-of-5 Award winner. The 5-of-5 Award recognizes the highest-achieving states, regions, and programs that exceed all five of Jobs for America’s Graduates National’s performance metrics aimed at graduation and employment.
Performance metrics include graduation rate, employment rate, full-time employment, total full-time positive outcomes, and further education rate.
Dee McGrew of GOAL was honored as a peak performer for having one of the highest contact rates in the nation for an out-of-school program averaging over 200 hours per student of instruction and guidance during the year.
Mount Gilead’s Gerry Hartman was recognized as an outstanding specialist for going above and beyond her role as specialist in support of the JAG students and staff.
Keith Willis said he enjoyed meeting with other specialists to share ideas.
“You have a vast pool of knowledge and experience from other specialists around the nation to draw on,” Willis said. “This allows me to keep my program fresh and relevant to what is happening in the world today instead of repeating the same activities and assignments year after year.”
Willis said specialists at the seminar learned about a new tool: Headrush.
“It provides a platform for specialists to organize, manage and share projects with their students and with other programs,” Willis said. “I will be able to look at successful projects completed by other JAG programs and use them as a blueprint for my own projects.
“It will be especially useful taking projects completed in a classroom and adapting them to the online environment at GOAL.”
Tish Jenkins said being involved with JAG makes a real difference in a young person’s life.
“It provides new experiences for them and gets them ready for the adult world, by helping them succeed in school and on-the-job,” Jenkins said. “We are so glad to be partnered with this organization at GOAL and having had this time of training allows us to better serve our students.”
GOAL Digital Academy serves 12 counties in Central Ohio with its seven Learning Labs, and celebrates students’ diverse learning styles, interests and talents by going beyond academics and providing students with well-rounded opportunities to meet new people and engage in their passions.
GOAL offers regular family education and networking opportunities and continually works to remove family or community barriers that impact student success.
