Durant High School has a Jobs For Graduates (JAG) program that was discussed during a recent meeting of the Durant Board of Education.
Superintendent Mark Moring said the program was approved a year ago, but it did not begin until last winter.
Sharlena Hamby is the coordinator for JAG.
“I’m excited about this program,” Hamby said. “It’s going to do wonders I think for our students.”
According to Hamby, the program is about 43 years old.
“This is our first year, but not only Durant’s first year, it’s Oklahoma’s first year to be part of the JAG,” Hamby said. “We did it a half year last year, I don’t think that counted as our first year.”
Hamby said the program prepares students after graduation who are either college bound, post-secondary school or going straight into the workforce.
“It is a program that provides curriculum,” she said. “So, not only are we getting them ready for the workforce in certain ways, it teaches etiquette, proper dress. We do mock interviews, we do resumes. We learn the proper way to dress and how you want to present yourself out in the public when you’re looking for a job and when you’re building that resume.”
According to Hamby, JAG is a three-year course students begin in their sophomore year.
“They stay with me every year through their senior year and after they graduate, they have what’s the followup here and what that means is I’m available to these students the year after they graduate, whether it be into jobs connections, work experience, or I help them fill out the college application,” Hamby said. “I help them see where they want to go. Find the best schools for them. But, I’m there for them to contact even a year after they graduate.”
Hamby said there are 10--15 students per class and the maximum number of students they can have is 60.
“We have 30 currently right now in the program,” Hamby said. “Once these seniors graduate, our numbers should go up.”
She said the students have to meet the criteria to be in the program and that there are barriers they must have and meet.
“Once they meet those and I get a list of students with the counselors, then I interview these students,” Hamby said. “You’ll notice it’s a commitment to stay in the JAG program. That’s something I really push at the beginning. You’re not committing for one year, you’re going to be in this program through high school and then you’re going to see me even after high school.
“Students must want to be in this class. For it to be a success, the students have to really want to be in there. So, I try to make it a very handson learning experience that’s not the traditional setting.”
