Summer camp intended to hone professional skills
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Jobs for Florida Graduates instructor Michele Parnell, far left, and Putnam County Jobs for Florida Graduates coordinator Becci Motes, far right, have high hopes for the school’s career camp that begins in June. The two faculty members are pictured with students in the Jobs for Florida Graduates program. -
Jenkins Middle School students and the school’s Jobs for Florida Graduates instructor, Michele Parnell, left, gather shortly after students were inducted into the Jobs for Florida Graduates Association. -
Positively Putnam FL
A camp with the aim of creating career-ready middle school students prepared to enter the workforce will occur early next month.
Jenkins Middle School’s Career Camp will be June 1-4 and include presentations on professional dress, etiquette, interviewing for a job and being a successful citizen. A fashion consultant, a life coach, a local retail leader and Palatka Police Department employees will speak during the four days.
The camp is hosted by Jobs for Florida Graduates, a program in eight district schools that provides students with job training and life skills. Becci Motes, a Putnam County School District graduation coach and a Jobs for Florida Graduates coordinator, said the camp serves as a way to connect the district’s business partners and professional mentors with middle school students.
“We want to build career-ready skills in our students, so when it’s time to transition to post-secondary pathways, they’re going to be poised for success,” Motes said. “The exciting thing about starting the JFG programs is that we’re really going to customize our programs to the specific needs of Putnam County. Our business partners are going to help directly.”
The camp also helps students adjust to high school, she said, where they may struggle socially or academically. It is important for laying the groundwork and forming partnerships with older students.
“Hopefully, our kids are going to be able to make that transition smoothly,” Motes said.
As coordinator, Motes said, she seeks to broaden the program’s reach to the district’s outlying areas, although the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the program’s ability to progress the way she had hoped.
“We have big plans for next year,” Motes said.
Jenkins will close as part of the district’s revitalization plan to save on infrastructure costs and prevent layoffs amid declining enrollment and funding. Seventh and eighth graders who would have attended Jenkins next year will attend the newly-created Palatka Junior-Senior High School.
Motes said Jobs for Florida Graduates can have a similar type of program to engage younger junior-senior high school students after the school closure.
“It’s a continuation pretty much in a different location,” Motes said. “We’ll be able to offer it at all of those junior-senior high schools.”
Michele Parnell, Jobs for Florida Graduates teacher at Jenkins, said it’s never too early for students to begin planning their future and learning from mentors. She said the guest speakers will give students a clearer picture of what’s going on in the community.
This is Parnell’s first year teaching the program, which she has had to do with the limitations and protocols that came with COVID-19.
“I’ve been taking it in all year. It was a learning process on the go,” Parnell said.
Parnell wants students to build on lessons learned and retain information later in high school.
“My goal is to teach students to be leaders in the community,” Parnell said.
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