Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) President/CEO Chuck Knapp today issued the following response to Governor Sam Brownback’s announcement regarding a new Kansas school funding system:
“Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) is changing lives across Kansas as we help ‘at-risk’ students successfully complete high school and move to a career path. Governor Brownback has been a strong advocate for JAG-K since our inception, and it is gratifying to be recognized as an example of a program that is achieving positive outcomes that can be objectively measured.”
JAG-K is an affiliate of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates program. The program has served more than 1 million students in its 36-year history. JAG-K is entering its 4th school year and is currently partnering with students, schools and the business community in nearly 60 schools throughout Kansas. Last year, more than 2,500 Kansas students were served.
JAG-K is primarily funded through a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant through the Kansas Department for Children and Families. JAG-K students are selected for the program based on various barriers to success. Many of the students are trapped in a generational cycle of poverty or more likely to enter poverty due to economic or environmental situations. More than 90 percent of JAG-K students successfully complete high school. Those students then receive 12 months of contact from the JAG-K program to help ensure successful entry to a career path, including post-secondary education, vocational training, the military or directly into the job market.
JAG-K is also supported by corporate sponsors including, ADM, Amerigroup Foundation, AT&T and John Deere. Organizational partnerships include the Kansas State Department of Education, Kansas Department for Children and Families and 30 Kansas school districts.
Chuck Knapp, JAG-Kansas Organization