JAG-SC Graduates Exceed National Standards

SOUTH CAROLINA – June 28, 2012 – More than 250 high school studentsenrolled in the state’s Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG-SC) programreceived a high school diploma this year. This marks the secondconsecutive year that the program has seen a high school graduation rateof 95 percent, which is five percent higher than the program’s nationalstandards.

Coordinated by the SC Department of Employment andWorkforce (DEW), JAG-SC is a statewide high school dropout preventionprogram that focuses on academic success and career readiness skills.Currently in its seventh year, the program has served more than 5,500students who face several documented barriers to success. With the helpof a dedicated career specialist at each school, 267 JAG-SC high schoolseniors this year mastered 81 skills identified by businesses asessential to successful employment.

The following schoolsgraduated 100 percent of their JAG-SC students: C.A. Johnson High Schoolin Columbia, Calhoun County High School, Carolina High School andAcademy in Greenville, Clinton High School, Darlington High School, LakeMarion High School in Santee, Lancaster High School, Manning HighSchool, McCormick High School, Rock Hill High School, Swansea HighSchool, Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, West Florence HighSchool and Wilson High School in Florence.

JAG-SC graduates ofthe Class of 2011 exceeded all of the national standards. Ninety-onepercent of last year’s graduates attended college, enlisted in themilitary or accepted full or part-time job positions, an outcome that iswell above the organization’s national standard of 80 percent.Additionally, 82 percent of last year’s graduates also receivedfull-time jobs, a percentage that is well above the national standard of60 percent.

“The JAG program has seen tremendous growth duringthe past seven years, and I am pleased to see so many students enrolledin the program graduate from high school this year and during recentyears. For many of the students, this is the first exposure they have toconcepts that raise their personal expectations of themselves,” saidJAG-SC State Coordinator Elaine Midkiff. “This is a great program thathelps students form a personal connection between their interests andabilities. I look forward to seeing this program, and the students, growin the future.”