Jackson Public Schools announces Nissan partnership to expand advanced manufacturing training

Jackson Public Schools announced a partnership with Nissan North America to provide instructors and industry-standard equipment for advanced manufacturing and robotics instruction across four Mississippi school districts.

A Nissan North America representative said, "Today, we're making it official as the partnership between JPS and Nissan," announcing the signing day and the company’s role supplying instructors and curriculum support for advanced manufacturing, teamwork and problem-solving training.

Organizers said the program will use existing space at the Evers Career Development Center and provide equipment aligned to industry standards so students can practice on tools they will encounter in the workplace. The district described a manufacturing readiness certificate that students can earn by passing the curriculum and pre-employment assessments; organizers said the internship component began in February and has included classroom instruction on assembly-line principles.

Dr. Eric L. Green, superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, praised the partnership as an example of business and district collaboration to prepare students for careers. A presenter at the event thanked "Dr. Cook, Eric Cook" for his role pulling the district forward with the partnership.

District officials said the certificate and internship are intended to help students build employability skills and produce a portfolio item for hiring managers. No formal vote or district action was reported at the event; officials described the signing as a program launch and partnership announcement.

Next steps the district described include offering the course at Evers Career Development Center with continued employer engagement and rolling the program out to the named partner districts.