Emporia High highlights JAG success and rolls out Naviance to track students’ IPS and postsecondary plans

Emporia High School staff and students used the board meeting to highlight in-class career education and a new student-planning platform intended to help more students reach graduation and postsecondary goals.

Ramsey Siebert, a career specialist at Emporia High School, described the school’s JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates) program and introduced student leaders Julissa Vasquez and Alfonso Barajas. The presenters said JAG combines competency-based curriculum, project-based learning and employer engagement; statewide JAG outcomes cited in the presentation showed a graduation rate between 95 and 98 percent and full-time employment outcomes above 80 percent for program participants. Siebert also described a pilot for micro-credentials in job readiness, pathway navigation and financial literacy that is being trialed in Wichita and Augusta.

Separately, assistant principal and CTE director Stephanie McCracken and counselor Roxanna Peraza explained the district’s adoption of Naviance (a PowerSchool product) to replace two previous platforms. They said Naviance centralizes IPS (individual plan of study) tracking, provides four-year course planning, integrates with Common App for college application materials, and offers data dashboards so counselors can identify students who do not log in and intervene. Presenters noted the district will roll out parent logins and hold a presentation and CTE fair on Jan. 16 as part of the enrollment process.

Board members praised the student presenters and asked how the tools would scale to middle school; staff said the Naviance license covers middle grades and that middle schoolers are already creating profiles to ease high-school enrollment. The meeting also included a brief report showing the district’s 4-year graduation rate at 90.9 percent and a 5-year rate at 94 percent, which district staff framed as progress linked to pathway work and counseling supports.