The Jobs for America’s Graduates program at Smith-Cotton High School received awards from both the national and state program for its performance during the 2020-21 school year.

According to JAG-Missouri, “JAG is a national program that helps students who have potential, but who also have significant barriers to overcome, including poverty, a challenging family life, and trauma they have experienced in their lives. JAG helps those students reach their full potential by first graduating from high school and being successful at whatever career they choose to enter."

Smith-Cotton is one of 15 Missouri schools to earn the JAG National “5 of 5” award for meeting or exceeding the five key performance measures identified by JAG for traditional high school programs: graduation rate, employment rate, total in full-time employment, total in full-time positive outcome, and further education rate and completed credential. The state program also was recognized with the “5 of 5” award.

JAG teachers are called “specialists” and S-C specialist Amanda Harvey is one of eight in Missouri to be recognized nationally for outstanding achievement during 2019-20.
At the JAG-Missouri Summer Training Institute in July, the first James H. Buford Outstanding Program Awards were presented. Smith-Cotton was recognized for its Senior and Multi-Year Programs.

Harvey said, “XXXXXX"

Since its founding in 1979, JAG has served more than 1.5 million students, achieving a national graduation rate of 90 percent or higher every year of its existence. In 2021-22, JAG will serve more than 76,000 students in 40 states, including Missouri.

In the photo: Smith-Cotton High School students in the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program and S-C specialist Amanda Harvey, front, were recognized with national and state awards for their performance in the 2020-21 school year.

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