MPCSD iJAG adds new specialists and middle school program

MT. PLEASANT — With the start of its third year, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District’s iJAG classes continue to expand and evolve as staff, student, and community buy-in continues to grow and support this project-based learning program.

Beginning by offering iJAG classes to junior and senior high school students the first year, MPCSD’s program has grown considerably over the last few years.

“There has been a lot of change, good change,” freshman sophomore iJAG instructor Beki Hoyle said.

Last year the district added Hoyle’s iJAG sections, and this year they excitedly added a middle school program under the direction of Stacy Peterman.

Peterman and the middle school program are not the only new additions to MPCSD’s iJAG classes, however. Hoyle and Peterman also welcome new junior senior iJAG instructor Holly Frary.

“I am so excited about our team,” Hoyle said.

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With experience working with Peterman previously and a background in psychology, Hoyle feels that Peterman is the perfect addition to the program.

“When I knew they were opening this program I thought of her instantly because she as so amazing with the kids at the middle school and they loved her,” Hoyle said.

While Peterman worked at Mt. Pleasant Middle School previously, she most recently made her living working as a service manager for the last two years with Hy-Vee.

Peterman says that she appreciates the experience that Hy-Vee gave her in training high school students and working in that atmosphere, she really loves working with kids.

“When I had the opportunity to do that again, I jumped at it!” Peterman said.

Frary came to the program with previous iJAG experience in the actual position she currently holds.

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“I was the 11-12 education specialist at North High School in Des Moines from 2009-2011 and then we moved to Mt. Pleasant and they didn’t even have an iJAG here,” Frary said.

Hoyle knew of Frary’s previous experience.

“When I got hired for iJAG Holly caught me out at a dueling pianos event and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, I used to work for iJAG,’” Hoyle shared. “And you could just tell the passion was still there and so, when Tony [the former 11-12 specialist] left I knew I had to get ahold of her.”

Frary excitedly returned to the iJAG program and is an enthusiastic member of the team.

After over a decade away from the program, Frary expressed her joy in seeing how much the program has grown.

“Back when I was a specialist, iJAG was so Much smaller,” she said. “We only had maybe 10 to 20 programs across the state. Now there’s life 155 plus programs. It has pretty much exploded since I started way back when.”

While the program has expanded considerably, Frary says the core of it remains the same.

“It's still career development, leadership development, social awareness, civic awareness and service learning,” she said. “Students are required to master competencies by the time they graduate and those competencies are delivered through project -based learning in the classroom and so that hasn't changed and I love that.”

Not only is Frary happy to see the expansion of the program statewide, but she feels that returning to this type of position gives her the opportunity to do the work she is most passionate about.

“The majority of my career has been spent working with youth ages 16 to 24,” Frary said. “I love working with the underserved students to help them just identify and develop their leadership potential and then help plan for their futures when they maybe haven’t even thought out it themselves.”

According to Hoyle, the addition of middle school classes will expand the depth of instruction the overall program will be able to offer students as it offers more opportunities to build from year to year.

“So, the seven through eighth grade program is intended to kind of introduce them to the program and get them to work more on social skill type areas and social-emotional type stuff,” Hoyle explained. “Then they introduce them to careers so when they come to my ninth through 10th grade program, they start exploring.”

“In my classes they’ll answer questions like what are you good at? What do you want to do? How do you combine those two together,” Hoyle continued. “Then when they get to Holly’s program, then they start implementing those ideas. … Hopefully by the time they get to her they have chosen a path, and she starts walking them down that path for military or workforce or college.”

These steps that build into each section of the program excite all the specialists in the MPCSD program.

“I just love the fact that the program is just expanding,” Frary said. “To get the middle school program up and running, you know, that means that we will be able to reach students starting as early as middle school and then, if they stay in the program that’s six years of iJAG.”

The building blocks produced through the expansion of the iJAG program helps the MPCSD iJAG staff to further support their students in this unique project-based learning atmosphere with emphasis on trauma-informed care.

According to the iJAG website, the programs focus on seven essential constructs:

1. Career readiness

2. Character readiness

3. Communication and technology

4. Critical thinking and productivity

5. Life skill

6. Self-advocacy

7. Conflict resolution

With only a couple of months under their belts, the women leading the charge of MPCSD’s iJAG program say they are already experiencing the joy of seeing their students explore and engage in the curriculum and with their communities.

Last week as Hoyle and Peterman sat down to talk about the program a bit, they both expressed excitement as sophomore Wyatt Nicholson came in and out of their room as he asked questions and shared his experience calling state representatives about working restrictions for students under 16 years old.

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“I got ahold of them,” Nicholson said as he popped in after calling the office of United States Sen. Chuck Grassley. “I talked to Grassley’s office and they said they would let him know what I said and they asked for my name and my number and my contact information so they can get back to me.”

According to Hoyle, civic engagement is an important part of the program and as each section of the program begins their campaigns for the leadership council, the students are very aware of what is going on around them and how it affects them.

Nicholson, who is running for leadership president took it upon himself to call the representatives.

With a little encouragement from Hoyle, he exited the room and called Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks office as well.

Nicholson returned to the classroom with a triumphant grin and informed Hoyle that the call went very well.

“I'm gonna have you tell your classmates about this and how it went, and if they have the same concern, you have the phone numbers to give them now,” Hoyle told the excited student. “ … I appreciate you doing that Every kid in Iowa under the age of 16 is gonna appreciate you doing that.”

Other ways Hoyle, Peterman and Frary have already seen their classes engaging this year include participating in the homecoming parade, honor the custodians through active conversation, and presenting appreciation gifts to individuals like Principal Michael Wilson.

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As the program continues, Hoyle says they see more community involvement through things like Hy-Vee giving them a discount on pumpkins for their annual fall project, the chamber taking students on an industry tour, and community service organizations reaching out to the specialists asking for volunteers.

Hoyle, Peterman and Frary look forward to continuing to support their students as they see them grow and develop not only through this school year, but through the duration of their time in the iJAG program, and they can’t wait to see where the program goes from here.

With all sections near their maximum allotment for class sizes, Frary anticipates that it is only a matter of time until they begin to see a waitlist form with the increase in interest.

“What I think we’re going to see happen is we’re going to have waiting list,” Frary said. “Because this is an elective and only a certain number of students can be in the program. They have to need, want, and benefit from it, which all students probably need it and they all could benefit from it, but maybe not everyone want to be in it.”

“I think what’s going to happen is those middle schoolers of course are going to want to be in the nine-10 program and the nine-10 will want to be in the 11-12 program and it’s going to be this funnel of students and that seems really cool,” Frary said.

According to Frary, she already sees both teachers and students excited about this program.

“I am excited about that because we already have students at the high school level who are already expressing interest in wanting to be in the program,” she said.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com