Shelby County Schools Offers New JAG Program for Students

More opportunities are now available for students in Shelby County to learn skills needed to join the workforce right after high school graduation.

Shelby County and Montevallo high schools are the first in the district to offer this program.

What district leaders say is special about this program is it ensures no student is overlooked.

JAG breaks down a student’s barrier to success through instructors like Megan Hale.

“Every child is capable and they just need to be able to tap into that potential and i think that’s really what jag does,” said Hale.

Students eligible for the program are dealing with academic, environmental, income or personal barriers.

“They are facing some economic challenges. It might be that they come from a single-family home, but whatever the case, maybe it is just helping to equip them with job skills,” said Julie Godfrey, supervisor of career and technical education with the Shelby County school system.

Hale said students will earn credits toward their graduation in a non-traditional classroom setting, including project-based learning, employer engagement and trauma informed care.

But the support doesn’t end with graduation.

“You check in on them, you call them and see how they are doing, do they still have the job you set up for them, do they enjoy it, but you also check in with their employer and see how they are thinking they are performing and how they are doing,” Hale said.

Program data shows this help increases student graduation rates. Since 1996, it’s helped more than 11,000 students in Alabama.

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