Youth unemployment is at a record high, especially for urban and minority teenagers, and we know this impacts their lifetime earnings and prospects. Yet at the same time, AT&T and other businesses are struggling to find workers who have the mindset, habits, and skills to help us succeed. Click here for the full article.

Looking for more JAG workers!

Like many Connecticut employers, Neysha Flores, above, a vendor services supervisor with National Waste Associates of Glastonbury, is continually looking for workers who are smart, willing and able to learn, and who have the good work habits to fit in and help her company.

In JAG, Neysha found a great worker, and she would like to find more.

“Rossana came to us without any business experience, but she impressed us from the first interview, and she has gone on to learn many different elements of our business,” Neysha said, of Rossana Bustamonte, a Manchester High School JAG student she hired six months ago.

“When she interviewed with us she was well-spoken and outgoing and made a very good impression. She’s doing a really good job, handling everything from cold-calling new vendors to dealing with emergency situations and different types of contracts.

“She is a good fit for us,” Neysha continued. “I would definitely hire another JAG student in the future.”

Zakeya Herring

Congratulations to Zakeyah Herring of James H. Hillhouse High School in New Haven! Zakeya received a $1,000 Kenneth M. Smith Scholarship. The scholarship, named for JAG National President Kenneth M. Smith, is open only to JAG students; Zakeyah was one of 23 recipients, from 108 applicants from around the country. The scholarship is renewable next year. 

Design Thinking: JAG’s Strength and Effectiveness

"My support for JAG is also that it is not an adjunct program; it is really built into the school day.

"The strength of this program… is designing backwards from what we want graduates to look like in the end. Working with industry the message is consistently same: They want graduates that think and can problem solve and have the habits of mind to be part of an organization. The JAG Program, and schools that have that focus built in as part of their day, are better able to achieve this. The JAG program really focuses on teaching explicitly those soft skills and what we call habits of mind . You don’t always find that in conventional education."

~Steve Pynn. JAG CT Advisory Board member

"Having been in education for a long time, I have never had a role like this, and it’s very rewarding."

~Justine Meyer, Lead JAG CT and Manchester High Specialist

Excerpts from MetroHartford Alliance's Pulse of the Region, November 21, 2015

Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who are most at-risk. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results – helping nearly a million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue post-secondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities.