We want to welcome Louisiana families and educators to be a part of our Jump Start program. In Louisiana we believe that our students are just as capable as any other students in America. The most influential people around to help our children are their guardians and teachers. They are in the best positions to help students achieve their expectations. As a result of this belief, Louisiana has increasingly seen students’ performance improve locally and nationally. More students than ever in grades 3 to 8 are mastering the fundamental skills they need to succeed to the next level. We want our students to be prepared for high school, college and their future careers.
Our educators are dedicated to ensuring that every child and school has the opportunity to grow and thrive every day. It is thanks to this vision and relentless focus of four major areas, access to quality early childhood education, academic alignment in every school and classroom, teachers and leader preparation, and finally creating a pathway to college and or a career that makes the Louisiana school system so great. Louisiana has created the nation’s most coherent statewide system of standards, curricula, assessment, and professional learning that prepare students for the future outside of school. All Louisiana educators have access to high-quality training and career advancement opportunities and this goes for aspiring teachers to school system leaders. We are proud to say our students graduate with the credentials and funding they need to take their next step in education and or career preparation.
We are confronting low kindergarten readiness, low student assessment scores, and low college attainment, as well as high poverty and unemployment rates. Our strategies target every step of the student experience, from early childhood to college and career. We want to ensure no student is left behind. Falling behind in classes can prevent children from achieving their full potential. Children are the future of the world and without the guidance of amazing teachers and educators how can we expect them to reach all of their career goals? Louisiana even offers ways to help your children from home and in-between school years so that they can comfortably start the next school year with everything they learned from the year before. From back-to-school guides to homework help, and assessment calendars to keep track of your child’s progress at any time. Louisiana is devoted to the future.
Again Louisiana believes guardians know best how to prepare their children to succeed in higher levels of education and careers so our goal is to give parents and teachers the opportunity to be completely involved in their children’s education to empower them with the necessary information needed to succeed to the best of their abilities. What will you do to help encourage your children to aspire for a better future? Try Jump Start and you won’t regret it. With numbers to prove the help Jump Start is providing to students, teachers and their parents; what could be stopping you from jumping into Jump Start?…
Recently, the Louisiana JumpStart program joined forces with the Louisiana Bankers Education Council to facilitate financial literacy among students. The objective of the collaboration is to provide access and advocacy for financial education resources and programs.
The Louisiana Bankers Education Council participates in Louisiana JumpStart’s program to teach financial literacy to educators across Louisiana. Members of the Louisiana Bankers Education Council are available as resources to schools and educators throughout the year on financial topics such as how credit changes to meet your needs, knowing your credit rights, what if you can’t pay your bills, building a good credit history, what to do if your credit application is turned down, how your credit application is usually reviewed, applying for credit, shopping for credit, understanding the qualifications for credit, finding the kind of credit that is best suited for you, and how to wisely use credit.
The Louisiana Jumpstart program has been hugely successful. For instance, in 2013, only two percent of high school diplomas were career-focused. Shortly after the launch in 2018, approximately 20% of students completed their high school education with a career-focused diploma. According to the State Department of Education, the amount of industry-based credentials rose to over ninety thousand in 2018, from eighteen thousand in 2014. Industry based credentials act as proof that students are ready for entry-level roles in the job market.
The objective of Louisiana’s Jumpstart program is to ensure that at least forty percent of students complete high school with industry-based credentials to ensure that those who do not proceed to college have other options than low-wage jobs or the military. At the end of the program, students should be able to successfully enter the workforce.
Many students believe that the JumpStart program has been very helpful. One of these students is Gabriel Bland, who graduated with a JumpStart degree from Lutcher High School. Like every other student, Gabriel Bland had to attain 9 of his twenty-three high school credits in fields like pre-engineering, welding, and cybersecurity. According to Bland, the Louisiana JumpStart program enabled him to get a better idea of what he wanted to do after he completed high school. Currently, Bland helps run a Gramercy-based plant in various capacities.
Another beneficiary of the Louisiana JumpStart program and graduate of Lutcher High School is Canera Miles. Currently, Miles works a forty-hours per week job that runs from 7 am to 3 pm. Thanks to the Louisiana JumpStart program Miles joined the workforce straight out of high school without the need of going to college without the assurance that he would get a job upon completing his four-year course.
The Louisiana JumpStart program has created unprecedented career pathways. However, there have been some challenges along the way. Recently, the State of Louisiana launched Jump Start 2.0 partly because earlier credentials were not aligned with high-demand, high wage jobs. Under the new version, the pathways were reduced from forty to eleven. The changes are scheduled to take effect for freshmen during the 2020/2021 academic year.
Another challenge of the Louisiana JumpStart program is the stigma associated with career and technical education. Every so often you hear phrases like “he is a jumpStart kid” This is something that needs to change if more kids are to participate in the program.
Under some of the state rules introduced recently, career and technical education programs will also have the opportunity to become student of the year. Students who decide to pursue tertiary training in construction will be eligible for scholarships of $1000. Every year up to 40 scholarships will be available for these students.
Borne, a JumpStart teacher and former defensive line coach at Lutcher High School recently created a “signing day” which is the same as that of high-profile football commitments. It recognizes students who attain career-focused credentials, as well as entry-level jobs. Only 15% of people in St. James have a college degree, so what happens to the remaining 85%? The gap needs to be closed, more people need to be trained to enter the workforce while going to St. James. This is where the Louisiana JumpStart program comes in. If enough students are enrolled in the program, the proportion of people qualified for the workforce would dramatically increase, making society better off.
The Louisiana JumpStart program has been instrumental in revolutionizing the state’s education systems. Today more students graduate from high school better prepared to enter college. The career-focused diploma that is part of the Louisiana JumpStart Program ensures that students are well prepared to join the workforce upon completing high school. Students also get the opportunity to learn critical life skills such as financial literacy which are essential for success in their personal lives. All in all, The Louisiana JumpStart program helps students come out of school more well-rounded and ready to make valuable contributions to their community.…
JumpStart regional teams consisting of economic development/workforce experts, businesses, colleges, and school districts collaborate to offer real workplace experiences and career courses to high school students. Students get the opportunity to attain credentials that are valued and promulgated in career sectors that are most likely to lead to jobs with high wages. At the same time, the Louisiana JumpStart Program also prepares the participants for their tertiary education in two and four-year courses and career development.
Learning institutions are given a similar credit in their letter grade for students who attain a nationally recognized credential in a job sector that is in high demand as they do for students who get top grades in the AP test. In other words, the learning institutions are rewarded for preparing students for college education, as well as career entry. The Louisiana JumpStart program offers training and courses to students no matter which diploma pathway they took.
Recently, the Elementary and Secondary Education Board of Louisiana expanded the JumpStart Summers program, creating an opportunity for over three thousand high school students to earn essential industry-based credentials, attain academic credit, and participate in workplace-based learning during their summer break, while earning a wage.
Workplace-based learning is important because it offers students an unparalleled opportunity to master critical workplace skills, all while applying their academic school work. This is equally true for students that are career-focused as those that are university-bound.
In the first two years of the JumpStart Summer program, forty-eight providers enrolled over 1700 students. Students who successfully completed their programs attained a collective 1998 industry-based credentials and 1676 academic credits. Soon 15 additional providers were included in the program bringing the total number of providers to fifty-nine and that of programs provided to one hundred and sixty-six. The program’s structure focuses on career fields that are in high demand such as retail, tourism, hospitality, information technology, healthcare, culinary arts, business, automotive repair, drone operation, construction, and manufacturing.
The expansion of the JumpStart Summer program came just as industry and education leaders were exploring the evolution of Louisiana’s JumpStart Program. The JumpStart program provides students an excellent opportunity to pursue their interest in a career and technical education course that they may otherwise not be offered in their usual school syllabus. They can then use these classes to advance their experience and certifications towards industry-based diplomas. The program makes high-demand career pathways such as software development accessible to students across the state of Louisiana by introducing them to real-world experience, cutting-edge knowledge, and skills that are in high demand from employers. At the very least, students get the opportunity to learn essential life skills.…
The Louisiana JumpStart program is a unique career and technical education program that prepares students for the transition to adulthood. It equips them with the necessary knowledge to live capable adult lives, with the ability to continue to tertiary education after completing high school while getting certifications in career sectors that offer high wages. To graduate with a career diploma, students are required to obtain credentials that are valued and promulgated by the industry. The Louisiana JumpStart program offers students an elective path to pursue a university-preparatory diploma. Schools are given a similar accountability grade credit for students who attain top academic honors as they do for preparing students for careers in job sectors that are in high demand.
The Louisiana JumpStart program was launched in response to Louisiana’s failing Career Diploma. At the time, Louisiana’s Career Diploma was seldom used and had fallen into disrepair. Students who had earned the Career Diploma credential were not sufficiently equipped for entry-level roles in industry sectors with high demand. As a result, the Louisiana JumpStart program was created to align Louisiana’s k-12 career and technical education strategy with the economic development strategies of the state.
The Louisiana JumpStart program brings together industry leaders and school systems to offer students the platform to obtain paid internships and on-site job shadowing. Students participating in the program are given a stipend for successfully completed sessions and earn industry-based credentials as well as academic credits. They are also trained on soft skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork, all of which are necessary for the modern workplace.…