With the lure of high-paying oilfield jobs, can teachers, parents, and administrators convince kids to get their high school diploma? A new program at Williston High School is aiming to do just that.

Jim Olson reports on the Jobs for America's Grads, or JAG program in Williston.

(Melissa Edenloff, Williston Freshman) "When I first got my schedule..."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Melissa Edenloff didn't know what to think when a class called JAG showed up on her schedule this year. But the 9th grader at Williston High School says she's glad she got into the program. And teacher Luanna Fisketjon is happy Melissa - and a couple dozen other students are involved too.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "Kids need to feel like they belong. And if they don't feel they belog they're going to go somewhere else."


(Jim Olson, KX News) The JAG - or Jobs for America's Grads - program is a national effort to help kids make the decision to stay in school and get on track for a job they'll love.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "A lot of the cirriculum is career development and charater development. The goal for us is to have them feel successful so they'll stay in school."


(Jim Olson, KX News) And that can be a hard sell - with big-money jobs in the oil patch beckoning.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "What do you say to a kid who says I can make $15 an hour and his mom is making $10, and has always made $10 and they're a family in poverty?"


(Jim Olson, KX News) She says one way to make school important is giving students a stable place where they develop good friends and have a sense of belonging. And Fisketjon says she gets to be the teacher for these kids for a long time.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "The chance for them to have a safe place to go, one person they're dealing with that they know and have a relationship with, and then stay with that person for almost three years."


(Jim Olson, KX News) But what about that child who simply can't resist the call to a high-paying job that takes him out of school? She says schools can't be afraid of encouraging a GED path.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "Because that's what's in their best interest. And that's what we need to be here for - for the student's best interest and what's best for them."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Fisketjon says she prefers to convince kids to stay in school - and thinks this JAG program should spread from Williston to schools across the state to help kids get their diplomas.

(Luanna Fisketjon, Williston Teacher) "I think this might work. I'm excited."


(Jim Olson, KX News) As for Melissa Edenloff, her uncertainty at having the class has turned to happiness.

(Melissa Edenloff, Williston Freshman) "It's JAG. Kind of like algebra or English, but it's totally different." (In a good way?) "Yeah!" In Williston, Jim Olson, KX News.

Williston is the only school in the state that offers the JAG program right now. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list