This workshop highlights how the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program is intentionally designed to meet students where they are—across rural, urban, and under-resourced communities—by equipping them with the skills needed for success beyond graduation. Participants will explore how JAG integrates project-based learning (PBL) to build essential soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism, while also strengthening resume writing, interviewing, networking, and career readiness. The session will showcase how hands-on projects, leadership development opportunities, and real-world exposure through guest speakers and community partnerships help uncover students’ strengths, expand their confidence, and broaden their postsecondary outlook. Attendees will leave with practical insights into how JAG’s student-centered, culturally responsive approach supports leadership growth and prepares young people for college, careers, and life.
Senior JAG Specialist, Plainfield High School (NJ)
I am currently in my 16th year in education (third year with Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) New Jersey). I worked as an English/Language Arts and Journalism teacher in public and charter schools across Jersey City, Roselle, and Newark. Before becoming an educator, I worked for... Read More →
Tuesday July 28, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT Room 296
College students are a powerhouse of energy, fresh perspectives, and untapped potential—yet many community education initiatives struggle to move them from "interested" to "invested." This interactive workshop explores the unique motivations of today’s learners and provides actionable strategies to build sustainable partnerships between campus and community.
His session will provide practical strategies for aligning education with real work, defining clear standards, verifying readiness through performance, and improving training systems based on results.
Across urban and rural schools alike, student mental health is too often addressed reactively—through crisis response, discipline, or isolated SEL programming. Yet schools that consistently improve outcomes understand something deeper: mental health is not a support service. It is infrastructure. Drawing from experience across middle schools, high schools, residential treatment facilities, and juvenile justice settings, this session explores how to move beyond fragmented initiatives and instead design aligned systems that promote psychological safety, executive functioning development, and sustainable student performance. Participants will examine a practical 4-part framework for whole child mental health that integrates trauma-informed practice, student accountability, family engagement, and leadership alignment. Through real case examples and applied strategies, attendees will explore how to reduce behavioral escalations, strengthen student ownership, support educator well-being, and build school cultures where students are prepared not just academically—but emotionally and developmentally—for long-term success. This session is designed for school leaders, counselors, CTE directors, and educators seeking to implement mental health systems that are both relational and results-driven.
Employers are clear: technical skills alone are not enough. Students must also demonstrate professionalism, clear communication, problem-solving, and attention to detail—skills embedded in the 12 Career Ready Practices, yet too often treated as compliance requirements rather than instructional priorities. This high-impact, 45-minute workshop challenges educators and leaders to reposition Career Ready Practices as core drivers of instruction across Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Participants will examine how small lapses in precision—whether in communication, documentation, time management, workspace organization, or decision-making—can lead to real workplace consequences, including safety risks, inefficiencies, and loss of credibility. Through engaging, CTE-aligned scenarios across multiple career pathways, attendees will analyze how all 12 Career Ready Practices surface in daily workplace expectations—and how to intentionally embed them into labs, projects, assessments, and work-based learning experiences. The session moves beyond theory, equipping participants with practical, ready-to-use strategies to strengthen career-connected instruction and build a culture of professionalism, accountability, and true career readiness. Designed for CTE educators, instructional leaders, counselors, and workforce partners, this session aligns with LEAD’s focus on real-world pathways—ensuring students are not only trained, but fully prepared to succeed.
