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JILG Featured School:
Porta High School
Jobs for Illinois Graduates (JILG) is proud to feature Petersburg-PORTA High School. Located in Petersburg IL, PORTA is a rural community high school 25 miles northwest of Springfield. PORTA serves the communities of Petersburg, Oakford, Rock Creek, Tallula, and Atterberry (These towns comprise the school acronym) and has an enrollment of 444 high school students and 190 Jr. high school students.
Read the Nov. issue of the Porta NewsletterPORTA high school has a long-standing tradition of academic and extra-curricular honors. We are probably best known for our tremendously successful Future Problem Solvers, Band, Cross Country, Football, Wrestling, Scholastic Bowl, FFA and Science Olympiad teams for their many regional and state awards.
PORTA CUSD #202 is also receiving a great deal of attention right now for “Going Green”! We have committed 7.6 million dollars to change the Jr. & Sr. High School heating and cooling systems to geothermal, while also installing a 600 kilowatt wind turbine!
This year’s PORTA JILG program has 45 students enrolled, 25 seniors and 20 juniors.
This year’s students have already attended Cardinal Career Day in St. Louis in September. Our guest speakers so far have been: Illinois State Representative Rich Brauer, Stan Mars of Westwood College, Career Coach Bev Dillon of Bright Horizons, US Marines, Sunny Acres Nursing Home, Illinois State Senator Larry Bomke, Menard Convalescent Center, Joe Crain of Channel 20 News, and the IL ARMY National Guard.
Our officers attended the JILG Leadership Development Conference in September in Flora, IL. The officers learned more about teambuilding and their jobs within the Illinois Career Association.
We participated in 2 local parades in September and October and had a face-painting/game booth at the Petersburg Harvest Fest in October to begin raising money for Toys-for-Tots.
We had our Initiation and Installation Ceremony in November. We were honored to have Menard County Sheriff, Larry Smith, as our guest speaker.
Once each month, 4-6 PORTA JILG students help unload the food and commodities delivery truck for the Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation (CIEDC) of Menard County. After the truck is unloaded, the students help pack the items into the food pantry storage or into bags for needy families.
In the spring, students will hear from more guest speakers, will participate in JAWS, Job Shadowing, helping at the Music Boosters Fun Fare, and the JILG Career Development Conference in Effingham, IL.
Besides the above mentioned activities, the JILG students have also learned a lot about career exploration. We completed career interest surveys, learned about goal setting, worked on personal resumes, letter writing, and application forms. We have learned about employment tests, decision-making and appropriate appearance.
Through the coming months, we will work on Job Survival Skills which include completing a job interview, employer expectations, following directions/listening, time management, and practicing effective human relations. Other topics covered will be written and verbal communication, public speaking, and more teambuilding.
Service Learning Projects Performed This Year (Or attach newsletter article)
- CIEDC Food Pantry-help unload delivery truck and pack into storage or bags for needy families.
- Toys-for-Tots-raise money to purchase toys for underprivileged children.
- Adopt-a-Grandparent-visit residents weekly at both local nursing facilities.
- Help a Custodian/Teacher-during study hall/free time, students will help custodian/teacher as needed.
- Teen Mentoring/Visit elementary school-students visit classroom at elementary or Central and help teacher or student.
- PORTA Career Day-JILG students help in planning and implementation of annual Career Day at the high school.
About the Specialist
Lisa Willhite has been involved in education for ten years and has been at PORTA, in various capacities, since 1998. This is her fifth year as a Specialist with JILG. Lisa earned an Associates Degree in Applied Science from Lincolnland Community College in Springfield and went on to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale IL where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Education with a major in Biological Sciences. She later attended the University of Illinois-Springfield where she received certification in their Mathematics Certification Program.
Favorite JILG Activity: This is very difficult to choose. JILG is so diverse that many activities stick out for me. The Leadership Development Conference is a fantastic experience for the officers.
The I & I Ceremony is probably the activity I value the most because the students have to plan so much of it. It’s great to see the self pride when the parents and friends come to support their JILG student. It tends to be the most stressful for me because I have to let go of the reins and let the students succeed or fail on their own. The students always come through, and the event helps JILG students bond as a cohesive unit.
All service learning projects are important, too. The students learn a lot about themselves and others. It is oftentimes the first time some of these students have participated in helping others.
Best JILG Moment: I am amazed when the JILG students who begin visiting “adopted grandparents” as a class requirement, want to visit more than the required amount. They begin to understand the importance of giving to others. They also begin to give to others because they want to, not because they have to. The grandparents get so much out of the visits. This is when I feel the proudest of my JILG students, no matter what the service project is – when they focus on helping others.