Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG)
In March of 2020, we had the chance to meet with Ben Jones, who was Secretary of Education for South Dakota at that time. We spoke extensively about graduation rates for Native American students in the Sioux Falls School District. Unfortunately, graduation rates for Native American students in Sioux Falls sit at 40.1% An important goal for our School Board and for Promising Futures Fund, is to do all
that we can to increase the number of Native American students graduating from high school.
Secretary Jones told us of a successful program call JAG or Jobs for America’s Graduates. While JAG is not just for Native American students, it has shown great results in other school districts in South Dakota with large populations of Native Americans. We brought JAG to the attention of the School Board and Superintendent and after much due diligence in exploring programs that can keep more kids in school, JAG was adopted by the District. It was piloted at Roosevelt High School and in the fall of 2022, will be operating in all four Sioux Falls high schools.