JENNINGS — Jeff Davis Parish parents, educators and community leaders will have a chance to take a look at the Louisiana Jump Start initiative during an upcoming meeting.

The Jeff Davis Parish School Board will host a community meeting at 9 a.m. Sept. 30 at its office, 203 E. Plaquemine St. in Jennings.

The focus of the meeting is to help the community understand the state’s new Jump Start program for high school students.

Curriculum Supervisor Beth Compton said Jump Start is the state’s new program for school districts, colleges and businesses to collaborate in providing career courses and workplace experiences to high school students, certifying them for the career fields most likely to lead to high-wage jobs.

“Jump Start will provide these students with basic and advanced career credentials to allow them to continue their education after high school,” Compton said.

To achieve this, students will focus on a pathway of courses and workplace-based experiences to be developed by regional teams made up of local industries, colleges and school districts.

“For so long we have pushed college as the only option,” Compton said. “But we realize not all our students should be going to college, and they need to have options.”

Only 28 percent of Louisiana graduates obtain a two-year or a four-year degree, according to the state Department of Education.

The Jump Start program will give students the option of choosing a college or career path that could lead to high-demand, high-wage jobs. It begins with the entering 2014-2015 freshmen, with full implementation in the 2017-2018 school year.

“We need to start preparing now so that we will be ready for the transitions and changes,” Compton said. The biggest change will be the transition from a three-diploma pathway to a two-diploma pathway.

Ninth- and 10th-graders will take common courses like biology and civics, while juniors and seniors will follow a sequence of academic courses defined by TOPS or follow a sequence of courses leading toward an industry based certification or credential.

IBCs could include such areas as nursing, computer networking, emergency medical response, electrical work, welding, carpentry, pipefitting and pharmacy technician work.(MGNonline)