South Dakota JAG receives prestigious 6-of-6 Award at national conference

Erik Kaufman, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·5 min read

Jul. 15—LAS VEGAS, Nev. — With its focus on intensive support for students, the

South Dakota Jobs for America's Graduates

program works to help students in schools across the state graduate and find employment after high school.

Now for the second year in a row, the South Dakota JAG program is being recognized for achievement, having been named the recipient of the 6-of-6 Award during the JAG National Training Seminar in Las Vegas, Nevada last week.

"It's our second year in a row, so we're ecstatic," said Beth Schneider, state director for the South Dakota JAG program.

The 6-of-6 Award recognizes the states and programs within the JAG network that exceed benchmarks in six categories deemed crucial to equip students with the skills and support they need to achieve their potential, according to a press release from the organization. Those six categories are high school graduation rate, employment rate, full-time employment, total full-time positive outcomes, connectivity rate and the rate of students furthering their education after high school.

The overarching purpose of the JAG program is to provide participants with classroom and work-based learning experiences that result in a quality job, leading to a fulfilling career after graduation.

The program has proven to be a cost-effective and successful one by increasing ratings in those six critical areas. At the Las Vegas conference, the South Dakota JAG program scored well in all of them, Schneider said.

Graduation rates are a cornerstone of the program, and South Dakota programs did well in that category, as well as the employment category. That performance is measured by students who are in the follow-up portion of the program, where JAG advisers keep in contact with them for 12 months following high school.

"Employment is either full-time or part-time. We had 68 participants this year, and 80.3% of them were employed. And of those 80.3%, 85% were employed at least 30 hours or more," Schneider said.

The program also measures total full-time positive outcomes, which measures factors like part-time employment to attending a post-secondary education institution. Schneider said the national standard for full-time positive outcomes is 75%. South Dakota topped that with an 85% rating. It also sports a 56% furthering education rate, well above the 35% national average.

Connectivity also rates high within the state program. Schneider said JAG advisers keep tabs on all students in the program who reach graduation for an additional 12 months after they leave high school. This allows them to provide additional guidance as the student learns to navigate the world outside of high school.

The follow-up phase, a hallmark of the JAG methodology, plays a pivotal role in that success, providing crucial support to graduates during the critical year after high school.

The South Dakota program sits at 100% with its connectivity rating.

"Connectivity rate is unique to JAG in that we have our students for 12 months after their senior year as part of the JAB program. We require that our specialists follow up with their students every single month for 12 months," Schneider said. "That's one thing we can control — connecting with our students. We can't control whether they are employed or whether they go to school or not, but we can control that we are there for them."

For a program to earn the 6-of-6 Award, it must exceed benchmarks in each category, demonstrating significant impact and effectiveness in preparing students for the next phase of their lives.

In addition to the accolades received by the state program, several school district JAG programs in South Dakota were also recognized.

Among them were programs in Andes Central in Lake Andes, Bennett County High School in Martin, Lyman High School in Presho and Washington High School in Sioux Falls. Those programs performed excellently, Schneider said, but a handful of other South Dakota districts nearly qualified as well.

"Eight of our 14 programs had students in follow-up, and half, so four, earned the 6-of-6 Award. And the other ones just barely missed it," Schneider said.

This year, 72 JAG programs from across the United States received the award. In addition, Nicole Fette, with the JAG program at Roosevelt High School, was also named the specialist of the year at the Las Vegas conference.

The success at the state and local district level has been a satisfying turn of events for Schneider and other leaders in the program. With the program now operating for 15 years and having been rebooted in 2020 with the hiring of Schneider as a full-time state director, the program continues to slowly expand its footprint in the state by adding new districts to the program.

The program has seen student participation grow from 128 to just over 400 since 2020, Schneider said.

The program expects to announce new district additions to the fold when it meets Monday, July 22 for its 15th anniversary celebration in Sioux Falls.

Gov. Kristi Noem

included the JAG program in her state budget in December,

allocating $482,000 to help boost the state program. Through that funding, Schneider said the state is hiring a pair of additional program managers that will work with her to assist districts with the growing program.

In addition to support from Noem, the program has garnered praise from other state and education officials, such as Joe Graves, who serves as the secretary of education for South Dakota.

"The JAG program has been doing tremendous things for students in South Dakota for about 15 years now," Graves said in a statement. "The mission of the program is to help students who face barriers to success by providing extra support to them. The difference our JAG teachers have on those students is inspiring."