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JILG Featured School:
Flora High School
Jobs for Illinois Graduates (JILG) is extremely proud to feature Flora High School which is located in Southeastern Illinois. The Flora Community is centered around both an agricultural base and a small industrial base. This small rural school of approximately 420 students draws from Rinard, Xenia, and Flora.
The Flora JILG Program served 42 students in the 2006-2007 school year and is currently serving 43 students in the 2007-2008 school year. Career Specialist Bob McNeely is in his third year as facilitator of the Flora JILG program. Through his leadership of the program the Flora JILG Chapter has led the state the last two years in community service hours completed. The Flora JILG program has been recognized as one of the best in the areas of Program Marketing, Program Innovation, and Data Management. The JILG program is also known for its outstanding JAWS activities. Each year the Flora JILG program raises thousands of dollars to bring in a quality guest speaker to motivate and to entertain the entire FHS student body.
It is the goal of the Flora Jobs for Illinois Graduates Program to provide its students with the appropriate and necessary skills for them to be successful after high school. Mr. McNeely and the Flora JILG students focus on Leadership Development, Team Building, Social Skills, Citizenship, Career Preparation, and Social Awareness. One of the projects that best prepares the JILG students for life after high school is the JILG/North American Lighting partnership. North American Lighting is a industry located in Flora, Illinois. Their Human Resource Department works with Mr. McNeely in preparing JILG seniors for the real world. The NAL Human Resource Department works with the students throughout the year. They give the Senior JILG students a tour of the NAL facility, they brief the students on what they look for in a employee, they schedule a phone interview with each student, and they also schedule a sit down one on one mock job interview. The JILG students create a portfolio that the NAL Human Resource Department critiques. The final stage of the NAL/JILG partnership is an overall written evaluation of each student in each phase of the interview process.
Throughout the school year the Flora JILG program works extremely hard in the Flora Community. Last year through their efforts they were able to raise $1,200.00 for the Clay County Cancer Support Group. The JILG class works throughout the year with the Kindergarten thru Second Grade teachers and students with the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) program. The Flora JILG program also spends one day working with the Flora Police Department on the Pre-Kindergarten Fingerprinting Safety Day. The JILG students fingerprint approximately 120 -140 Pre-K students each year. It is through these activities that the Flora JILG students develop a great sense of pride in making a difference in a life of another.
About the Specialist
Bob McNeely has been in education at Flora for 15 years and a JILG Specialist for the past 3 years. Bob is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University where he earned both his Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in Administration.
Favorite JILG Activity: The Annual Flora JILG Dodgeball Tournament
Best JILG Moment: When the Flora JILG Program raised $1,200 for the Clay County Cancer Support Group