By Stephen J. Alford
Maynard Jackson High School Principal Stephanie Johnson has successfully launched the Mission Possible: Summer Opportunity initiative, which has landed 500 summer jobs and internships for her students. Johnson arrived at APS’ Jackson High School in November 2011 and began searching for summer job opportunities after students advised her that they have a greater chance of getting into trouble without school obligations. Johnson contacted the Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools (SEACS), and soon after, calls from local business representatives began pouring into the school.
The summer employment movement quickly grew in popularity, so school officials, including Jackson Graduation Coach Arlena Edmonds, decided to host two job fairs to accommodate the vast number of interested students and employers. As a result of the school’s effort, nearly 500 Jackson students landed jobs and internships with companies like United Sisters and Brothers, Zeist, the Maynard H. Jackson Foundation, Emory University, Barnes and Noble, Atlanta Workforce Development, the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta History Museum, Teen Talk and General Electric. “I hope that skills such as attendance and follow-through on assignments will carryover into academic responsibility in August as a result of summer employment,” said Johnson.
Students who were assigned summer jobs are earning between $7.50 per hour and $14 per hour. Although internships are often unpaid, some companies are offering the Jackson interns stipends as large as $300.
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