Students in iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates) lead their communities in a Walk Across Iowa on Oct. 11th. The students hope to grow support for the program that helps students graduate from high school.

Through their actions they intend to create awareness and raise funds for iJAG, which helps them and other students at the highest risk of dropping out stay in school, graduate, and ultimately increase graduation rates in communities across the state.

Since iJAG began in Iowa 12 years ago, iJAG has graduated more than 7,000 students with an average 93% graduation rate, compared to Iowa’s 89% statewide average. Approximately one-sixth of iJAG students are the first in their family to graduate.

For some school students, they don't think twice about graduating high school and attending college but for others - their battle is just to stay in school.

Tuesday, students throughout the state of Iowa - including in Council Bluffs - took to the streets to raise awareness about a program aimed at curbing drop out rates among high school students. Students say the program gives them the edge they need to graduate.

These Council Bluffs students took their message to the streets this morning. "To raise awareness that we are iJAG and that we are here and that we are going to graduate of course,” a student from Abraham Lincoln High School said.

With feet against concrete - these students walked on - hoping they could bring more awareness to the iJAG program and that more students can be certain they too, will graduate from high school.

"iJAG, like here at Thomas Jefferson High School targets students at the highest risk of dropping out, in the Council Bluff's district alone over the past two years, they have seen some progress, falling from 170 to 100 students dropping out of school, but organizers say there is still a lot of work to be done."

Dr. Martha Bruckner, the Superintendent of Council Bluffs Public Schools says, "We said that we want to work towards 100% of our students graduating and we asked the community to help us and the iJAG program has come together to be partners with us, to say we will make a difference in these children."

Students like Alyssa Thompson, who says without iJAG - a program that connects her with valuable resources aimed to help her graduate from high school and to achieve her dream, to become a teacher. Without iJAG, she says that would be much harder to accomplish.

Thompson, a sophomore at Thomas Jefferson High School, says, "Nobody in my family has actually graduated college, so I came into wanting to graduate college and now I am just so ready and prepared for it."

And now, by walking Tuesday, Thompson hopes the iJAG program will still be around for other students in the future. "In T.J., if you are in iJAG, there is a 100% chance that every person in iJAG is graduating, and then like overall 96% graduate, so it's a really big deal and we think it's really important that people know about it."

Alyssa Thompson left for Des Moines Tuesday afternoon with 17 other Council Bluff students. There, they will present the Governor, along with other students statewide, with a petition asking for the iJAG program to be expanded and to receive more state funding.