Highland High School
Jobs for Illinois Graduates (JILG) is proud to feature Highland High School, home of the Bulldogs as the JILG school of the month! Highland is located in Southwestern Illinois approximately 30 minutes northeast of St. Louis off of Interstate 70 and a little more than an hour south of Springfield. HHS serves over 1000 students and has a long-standing tradition of academic and athletic honors—most recently capturing the IHSA 3A baseball championship in June.
Highland has several feeder schools and communities. In addition to students from Highland, students from Alhambra, New Douglas, Grantfork, Pierron, Pocahontas and St. Paul’s Catholic School make up the HHS student body.
JILG has been an integral part of the Highland High School curriculum since its inception in 1997. Now in its 12th year at HHS, JILG serves approximately 40 students a year. During the 2007-2008 school year there were 42 students in the JILG program and for the 2008-2009 school year there are 36 students registered in the program. For nine consecutive years, the Highland JILG program was recognized as a top performing program, meeting or surpassing the five standards of follow up established by the Jobs for America’s Graduates program (JAG) of which JILG is an affiliate.
Highland High School JILG Class
At Highland, the school motto is “Bulldogs believe in scholarship, leadership, and relationship” and the JILG program at HHS leads the way! JILG students are active in school activities and participate in community service programs, leadership activities and social events.
Throughout the course of the school year, Highland JILG students work on several projects to master the JAG curricula including a “Scavenger Hunt” project, career research project, college search project, portfolio project and “Moving Out” project. In addition, guest speakers from the community as well as representatives from the military branches and from local colleges, business and technical schools will visit HHS and share their expertise with the Highland JILG students.
Service learning through community service activities is a big part of the JILG program at Highland High School. Whether it is sponsoring a blood drive, participating in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, assisting at the Senior Citizen Prom, serving at the Highland Pregnancy Care Center Dinner, collecting food for the Highland Food Pantry or just raising money for families in need, Highland JILG students lend a hand in helping make Highland and the world a better place.
The Highland JILG program also participates in several social activities throughout the school year. In addition to assisting at the Senior Citizen Prom, HHS JILG students have attended St. Louis Cardinal baseball games, attended job fairs, hosted a video game night and sponsored a “Battle of the Bands” night. Each year HHS JILG students sell carnations for Valentine’s Day and have raffled off a night on the town (dinner for two and tickets to the movies).
About the Specialist
JILG Specialist Bob Vance
Bob Vance is in his 12th year as a Career Specialist for the Jobs for Illinois Graduates program. He attended the University of Illinois where he received a B.S. in Applied Life Studies. He lives in Highland with his wife Debbie. They have five children – three out of college and gainfully employed, one in college and one in high school. Bob is the assistant boy’s track and cross country coach at Highland.
“My biggest satisfaction in JILG comes when a student realizes that he or she can be successful if they just focus on what they are doing. It’s amazing what happens when they see the light. Sometimes it happens during the school year and sometimes it happens during the follow up year. Either way it makes me feel good about what I’m doing.”
