Bill to expand JMG’s school-to-career transition gets favorable review

Milo student testifies
in favor of legislation

Staff Report

    AUGUSTA — A bill to expand the Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) transition model to the post-secondary level has received resounding support from higher education leaders, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Commissioner of Education and the Maine Development Fund.

     “JMG students are a success story across Maine’s middle and high schools. And now, as Maine tackles this issue of degree completion, it only makes sense that we would build upon a proven model and existing relationships,” said State Senate Democratic leader Justin Alfond of Portland, the sponsor of LD 215.
    Co-sponsors include Maine Senate President Michael Thibodeau (R-Waldo County) and House Republican leader Kenneth Fredette of Newport.
    Eligible students must have previously been enrolled in a JMG high school program, been in or currently in foster care, or older youth who have earned a high school equivalency diploma within the five years prior to obtaining these services.
    Last fall, Thomas College and JMG created a pilot program, funded by the Unity Foundation, to continue to provide the personal guidance and support offered by JMG at middle and high schools
    “I am living proof that JMG really does believe in Maine students,” said Nicole Padilla, a JMG Thomas College student from Milo. “At my lowest point, when I didn’t think I could afford to return to college, JMG was there to bring me back up, once more.”
    Padilla also participated in JMG’s program at Penquis Valley High School. During her testimony she said, “When I thought of furthering my education at Thomas College, I was scared. I thought I’d have to face college alone. But when I was informed that Thomas had the first-ever college JMG program, I was ecstatic.”
    Carleigh Boston, a student at the University of Southern Maine, urged the committee to pass the bill to “support someone [like myself] in achieving their goals.”
    Boston was in the foster care system since the age of 11 and lived in more than 20 placements. She detailed her challenges in high school which included attending five high schools in her freshman year alone.
    “I know first-hand that a retention worker would have helped guide me better, bugged me when I didn’t reach out for help; and, I would have loved to [have] been a part of a student peer to peer support network,” Boston testified.
    The bill directs JMG’s to provide mentoring and counseling services, course guidance and graduation planning, peer support services and financial guidance to students and at Maine’s postsecondary institutions.
    The state’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee will be holding a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.