High school is not all about sitting in class learning anymore, at least not for those students who attend classes at Lewiston Regional Technical Center.
A part of Lewiston High School, LRTC offers classes that give students a taste of real-world job skills. But one program — Jobs for Maine Graduates — though listed as part of LRTC is a state-run program that offers students life skills that many do not get at home or in the traditional classroom setting.
The Maine Legislature created JMG in 1993 to help high school seniors reconnect to school and transition to the workforce. It has since evolved into an organization that helps students in grades six through 12 achieve better grades and experience a connectedness to school. It also provides them with opportunities for future success.
Brian York saw himself working in a traditional teaching environment as a math or history teacher while studying at the University of Maine at Farmington.
“I knew nothing about JMG, but when I found out about what it was, it made sense to me,” he said. “When I was finally hired and started teaching at LRTC, I became a believer in what the program does for these kids, and I am all in. I have to be for it to work.”
Each JMG specialist is graded on his or her success. It is dependent on the success of their students. Did they graduate? Are they working full time or going to school? Are they working and going to school part time? Are they in the military? The JMG specialists keep in touch with their students for a year after graduation to follow up on their progress.
“We are successful because we get the kids to buy into what we are trying to teach them,” York said. “They learn to write a cover letter and resume and create a portfolio. We teach them interview skills and show them how to budget their money, what credit is all about, how to properly dress and address somebody when you meet them. We get them ready to hit the job market and life in general.”
The JMG program is not for every student. “We don’t want the top 10 percent or the bottom 10 percent,” York said. “We are looking for those kids who have some sort of barrier that can be holding them back.”
The program helps students gain self-esteem, he said. “It’s amazing what that will do for the future of these kids. It’s why I have bought into the program, and I think the kids see that and most are excited to come to JMG.”
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- Lewiston Regional Technical Center teacher and Jobs for Maine Graduates instructor Brian York, center, talks to Lewiston High School sophomore Jordan Palmer, right, about a better technique to apply paint to a fence at the YWCA of Central Maine in Lewiston on Wednesday afternoon. Other JMG students, including Rebecca Carr, left, have been working on projects inside and out of the Lewiston center.
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