Opportunity should not depend on a Pennsylvania ZIP code.
JAG Pennsylvania is building a statewide strategy to connect young people in urban, suburban and rural communities with graduation support, career readiness, trusted adults, employers and pathways into postsecondary education and meaningful work.
Our growth strategy uses education, economic and workforce data to identify communities where an additional education-to-career partner could create meaningful value.
Where can JAG Pennsylvania add value next?
The final map will combine JAG PA's current footprint with research-based education, community and workforce opportunity indicators across the Commonwealth.
Future research-based map showing current JAG PA sites, education opportunity areas, socioeconomic opportunity clusters and workforce corridors.
This map should communicate opportunity, not label communities as failing.
Public & Charter Schools
Publicly available PDE data allows JAG PA to evaluate multiple indicators such as:
- 4-year graduation rate
- 5-year graduation rate
- Career Standards Benchmark
- Industry-Based Learning
- Rigorous Courses of Study
- Postsecondary Transition
Private & Faith-Based Schools
Private schools generally do not have the same directly comparable statewide PDE performance reporting.
Expansion analysis should therefore combine school-provided information with surrounding community conditions, student needs, school interest, implementation readiness and local partnerships.
Five lenses for understanding opportunity.
No single statistic should determine where JAG PA grows. The strongest expansion decisions combine student outcomes, community conditions and the opportunity to connect young people to real careers.
Education Outcomes
Graduation, attendance, career readiness, rigorous courses and postsecondary transition.
Economic Conditions
Poverty, household income, educational attainment, economic hardship and neighborhood deprivation.
Student Access
Exposure to credentials, work-based learning, postsecondary options and trusted support systems.
Community Capacity
School readiness, staffing, community organizations, transportation and local implementation partners.
Workforce Opportunity
Employers, high-growth sectors, credentials, internships, apprenticeships and career pathways.
Education outcomes tell only part of the story.
Research across Pennsylvania shows why statewide expansion should consider economic hardship, educational attainment, geography and access to opportunity alongside traditional school measures.
Residents Below the Federal Poverty Line
Penn State's statewide needs assessment, using ACS 2019–2023 estimates, reports that approximately 12% of Pennsylvanians live below the federal poverty line.
Adults Without a High School Credential
Statewide averages mask significant county-level differences in educational attainment.
Living in Highly Disadvantaged Block Groups
Updated Pennsylvania ADI analysis combines education, employment, income, poverty and housing indicators.
City Poverty Rate
Pew's State of the City research shows persistent economic hardship despite improvements in the overall poverty rate.
Children Living in Poverty
Child poverty reinforces the importance of early career exposure, trusted supports and pathways to economic mobility.
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
In 2023, 25% of rural Pennsylvanians age 25+ had a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 38% of urban Pennsylvanians.
Expansion should be evidence-informed.
JAG Pennsylvania can combine official education outcomes with research on poverty, mobility, student basic needs, workforce access and geographic inequity to better understand where partnership may create value.
What credible research tells us about opportunity.
The studies below help provide context for statewide expansion. They do not independently determine where JAG PA operates, but they help us understand the environments in which young people are preparing for school, work and adulthood.
Philadelphia Child Poverty
Pew's Philadelphia State of the City research documents persistent poverty and the relationship between educational attainment, employment and economic hardship.
Read Pew Research →Statewide Needs & Resource Data
Penn State's statewide assessment provides county-level context on poverty, educational attainment, unemployment, demographics, disability and other indicators.
View Penn State Research →Area Deprivation Index
The updated ADI provides a neighborhood-scale lens combining education, employment, income, poverty and housing conditions.
Explore the ADI Research →County Child-Wellbeing Profiles
State of the Child provides county-by-county data on poverty, homelessness, demographics, K–12 education, health and other indicators affecting Pennsylvania children.
Explore County Profiles →Rural School Districts
Rural Pennsylvania research documents differences in educational attainment, enrollment, income, internet access and workforce conditions.
Explore Rural PA Data →Philadelphia Economic Equity Project
Penn's PEEP initiative examines economic hardship and mobility and links those experiences to education, health and access to jobs.
Explore Penn Research →Postsecondary Basic Needs
In its 2023–24 multi-state survey, the Hope Center found 59% of respondents experienced food or housing basic-needs insecurity—important context for understanding persistence after high school.
Read the Hope Center Study →Education, Employment & Food Security
Drexel research has examined how barriers in schools and workplaces can interact with family economic and food insecurity in Philadelphia.
Explore Drexel Research →Economic Mobility Through Credentials
Pitt's Life Sciences Career Pathways Initiative connects credentials, K–12 exposure, industry demand and opportunities for workers historically excluded from high-growth STEM careers.
Explore Pitt Research →Connecting Young Adults to Work
CMU research in Pittsburgh has explored ways to connect young adults facing structural barriers with skills-aligned employment and workforce preparation.
Explore CMU Research →Geography & Economic Mobility
The Opportunity Atlas demonstrates that adult economic outcomes can vary substantially across neighborhoods even for children growing up with similar family incomes.
Explore the Opportunity Atlas →National JAG Graduation Outcome
JAG reported a 96% graduation rate and 84% positive outcomes in education and employment for its 2024 graduates.
View JAG National Impact →A foundation for statewide growth.
JAG PA's current network demonstrates that the model can operate across different educational environments—including traditional schools, private schools, community-based programming and cyber education.
The Delta School
Current education partner supporting student transition and career readiness.
St. Raymond of Penafort
Current private-school partnership within Independence Mission Schools.
Holy Cross Catholic School
Current school partnership supporting career readiness and student opportunity.
New Covenant Church
Community-based and after-school JAG PA programming model.
Insight PA Cyber Charter School
Cyber-school relationship demonstrating flexible statewide reach.
Our impact, measured through JAGForce.
This section is intentionally structured for JAG PA's current verified JAGForce data. Replace the placeholders only after leadership confirms the reporting period and numbers.
Students Served
Current reporting-period participants.
JAGForce Data PendingGraduation Rate
Verified JAG PA senior graduation outcome.
JAGForce Data PendingPositive Outcomes
Employment, postsecondary education, military or combined engagement.
JAGForce Data PendingEmployment
Verified employment and retention measures.
JAGForce Data PendingCredentials
Industry-recognized credentials or approved training achievements.
JAGForce Data PendingCurrent Sites
Current working school and community footprint shown above.
Employer Experiences
Mentoring, site visits, work-based learning, internships and career exposure.
Internal Data Pending12-Month Follow-Up
Post-graduation engagement and transition outcomes.
JAGForce Data PendingDifferent communities can require different entry points.
JAG PA can use multiple delivery formats while maintaining a consistent commitment to graduation, career readiness, leadership and transition support.
Public School Districts
Work with districts and schools where education and career-readiness indicators suggest that an additional student-success partner could create meaningful value.
Private & Faith-Based Schools
Expand structured career development, leadership, coaching and postsecondary planning through school-specific partnerships.
Charter & Cyber Schools
Provide flexible career-readiness, mentoring, leadership and transition supports for students learning through charter models.
Community & After-School
Use community-based delivery as an entry point where a traditional in-school model is not yet the right fit.
Statewide growth should connect students to Pennsylvania's economy.
JAG PA can align career exploration, credentials, employer exposure and work-based learning with Pennsylvania's evolving career and workforce sectors.
Advanced Manufacturing
Engineering, robotics, automation, production, maintenance and quality systems.
Healthcare & Human Services
Clinical, technical, behavioral, therapeutic and community-support careers.
Digital Technology
Cybersecurity, AI, digital systems, data and cross-industry technology.
Construction & Infrastructure
Skilled trades, apprenticeship, design, construction and infrastructure.
Supply Chain & Transportation
Logistics, distribution, transportation, maintenance and movement of goods.
Energy & Natural Resources
Utilities, energy production, sustainability and infrastructure.
Financial Services
Banking, finance, accounting, insurance and financial capability.
Management & Entrepreneurship
Business operations, leadership, project management and entrepreneurship.
Education
Teaching, youth development, counseling and community engagement.
Public Service & Safety
Government, civic leadership, justice, public safety and community service.
Statewide does not mean one-size-fits-all.
Pennsylvania's urban, suburban and rural communities face different barriers, assets and workforce environments.
Dense opportunity—and persistent barriers.
Urban communities can combine large school systems and employer networks with significant disparities in poverty, graduation, neighborhood opportunity and postsecondary access.
Opportunity gaps can exist behind regional averages.
JAG PA can work with districts, charters and community partners where student populations would benefit from stronger career connection, coaching and transition support.
Geography changes the access equation.
Rural expansion can require regional clustering, flexible delivery, transportation awareness, employer coordination and stronger connections between schools and workforce pathways.
How the statewide opportunity analysis should work.
This page should remain transparent about what the data can—and cannot—tell us.
Primary Quantitative Sources
- Pennsylvania Department of Education graduation data
- Future Ready PA Index
- Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
- Penn State statewide and rural data
- Area Deprivation Index
- U.S. Census / ACS measures
- JAGForce verified JAG PA data
Expansion Decisions Also Consider
- School and district interest
- Student population and program fit
- Local nonprofit and community partners
- Employer and workforce opportunities
- Funding and sustainability
- Staffing and implementation capacity
- Geographic feasibility
Public School Data
PDE provides comparable public-school and charter-school indicators that can inform opportunity analysis.
Statewide averages should function as reference points—not automatic labels determining which schools should receive JAG.
Private School Analysis
Private schools do not generally participate in the same statewide performance reporting framework.
Their opportunity assessment should therefore emphasize surrounding community conditions, school-provided information, student need, program interest and local capacity.
Help build opportunity across Pennsylvania.
Schools, employers, funders and community partners can help JAG Pennsylvania connect more young people to graduation, careers and economic mobility.