Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates successfully opens doors for at-risk students in the Mountain State.
In the coalfields of West Virginia in one of the state’s poorest counties, the aspirations of a 16-year-old honors student rise above the towering mountains and poverty that grip the region.
Jawuan Jackson has dreams of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon, a goal inspired by the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. But unlike the show, Jawuan doesn’t want to practice in a big metropolitan area. He wants to make a difference in McDowell County.
“Down here in West Virginia, at least in McDowell County, there is really no place where anyone can get help if they need serious surgery, especially pertaining to the heart,” the Mount View High School sophomore said. “It would be wonderful if I could give back to my community in the way it’s been giving to me, by providing basic health care for their hearts.”
Thanks to Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates (JWVG), a program of the West Virginia Chamber Foundation, Jawuan’s dream is being nurtured. The program, which is offered at Mount View in Welch and six other high schools in the state, encourages participants to graduate, go to college, get job training, enter the workforce or join the military.
“Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates serves students with barriers, and often that means they have academic or socioeconomic challenges,” said Elizabeth House, executive director, Jobs For West Virginia’s Graduates. “Many of our students have parents in addiction or who have died as a result of addiction, and they are living with someone other than their biological parent.”
In addition to Mount View High School, participating schools include Scott High School in Boone County, Lewis County High School, Logan High School, Chapmanville Regional High School and McDowell County’s River View High School.
Launched by the West Virginia Chamber Foundation, JWVG is affiliated with Jobs for America’s Graduates, a 40-year national program that has served more than 1.5 million at-risk youth.
A family foundation gift provided seed money to get the program started in West Virginia. The private donor wanted JWVG under the nonprofit Chamber Foundation because of its connection to employers. To honor the donor’s father, Boone, Lewis, Logan and McDowell counties were selected to participate.
“Given the economic hardships in southern West Virginia, with the loss of coal jobs and the opioid crisis, that seemed like the best place to kick this program off,” House said.
As it changes young lives, JWVG is growing. Next school year, Jackson and Clay counties will join JWVG at Ripley, Ravenswood and Clay County high schools. Since JWVG was formed, the program has served 600 and currently has 300 students. Its $800,000 budget is funded by both private and state dollars.
Students are selected through advisory councils, and recommendations can come from a specialist, counselor, teacher, principal, Communities in Schools staff member or parent. Each school’s specialist helps identify career interests and goals and works with students to ensure their needs are met.
JWVG students take elective courses for credit that teach foundational and employment skills, including resume writing, the application and job search process and how to succeed once a job is landed. Business representatives visit to talk about career possibilities.
At Mount View, a small high school perched on a mountaintop removal site, 128 students (86 high schoolers and 42 eighth graders) participate in JWVG. The program is led by specialist Debbie Krabbe, the county’s 2017 Teacher of the Year. Drawing on personal experiences of growing up in an abusive home, she shows students how they can overcome challenging circumstances.
“Unfortunately, kids in Mount View High School have significant barriers,” Krabbe said. “They live in the lowest-performing county in the United States per capita. Also, generational welfare is worse than any place else per capita. We have a mass number of grandparents and great-grandparents raising children. We have a lot of students whose parents have been caught in the drug crisis.”
Her magic formula? Show kids they are loved. Create a team and a family atmosphere. Emphasize that merely graduating from high school is not an option: get a diploma and pick a path, whether it’s a job, trade school or college. Make sure they have foundational and employable skills.
Step inside the JWVG classroom at Mount View and you see a touch of home, including a couch and tables with tablecloths. College banners, scholarship information and inspirational messages dot the walls. A mirror bears a line from the Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.” Students’ messages posted on the mirror describe changes they want to make.
“Everything here is meant to tell them, ‘Let your dreams be your wings and get you where you need to be,’” Krabbe said.
Such encouragement appears to be working. Mount View’s JWVG has a 100% high school graduation rate. Last year, 28 of its 30 seniors headed to college. Stars are emerging like Jawuan, the soft-spoken student with a 4.3 GPA who wants to become a heart surgeon. Community members are embracing the young man, who hopes to be the school’s valedictorian. A GoFundMe page started by Krabbe and financial support from anonymous Mount View alumni are helping Jawuan’s family attend a national conference for youth interested in medical careers.