JAG Tennessee Huntingdon High School

If interested in a leadership program for your upcoming high school senior UT Martin has one coming up July 30-31. Registration is open and deadline is July 17th.

RisingStar registration is OPEN! 🥳

Register your upcoming high school seniors for the Vaughn RisingStar Youth Summit, taking place on July 30-31, 2026!This event equips students with leadership skills, college readiness, and career insights, all while staying in UT Martin’s dorms for a real college experience.

💵 Registration Fee: $120 (Covers lodging, meals, swag, & t-shirt!)
📅 Deadline: July 17
🔗 Register Today!
https://secure.touchnet.com/C21608_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=1681&FROMQRCODE=true&SINGLESTORE=true

🌟Please spread the word and help us make this opportunity available to all eligible students! For questions and additional registration materials, contact Jennifer Smiley at [email protected] or 731-881-7298.

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean the newly selected 2026–27 JAG/Mustang Mentors are taking a break!
Recently, the mentors participated in a leadership training session at HHS led by two UT Martin staff, Dr. Jamie Mantooth, Executive Director in the Office of the Chancellor, and Ms. Sydney Roney, Admissions Outreach Coordinator. Through engaging leadership activities and team interactions, students were challenged to step outside their comfort zones, strengthen their connections with others, think about why the want to be a Mustang Mentor and develop the skills needed to become effective leaders.
One of the key lessons shared was that great leadership begins with understanding your purpose—knowing why you do what you do.
Dr. Mantooth left the students with three important leadership insights:
1-The hardest person to lead is yourself. We often judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions. Students were encouraged to learn more about their values and strengths.
2-Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.
3-Time management is a myth—set priorities instead.
Thank you to Dr. Mantooth and Ms. Roney for investing in our students and providing valuable leadership lessons that will help them grow into stronger leaders, not only now but in the future as well.

📚 Storybook Trail Update! 📚
A big thank you to the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation for awarding a grant to the JAG/Mentor Storybook Trail program! This funding allows our mentors to regularly update the Storybook Trail at the Kelley Complex with new books for families to enjoy.
Be sure to check out the current featured story, Llama Llama I Love to Read! As you walk the trail, read along page by page and interact with the story along the way.
Thank you to GELF and our JAG/Mentors for helping make reading fun, engaging, and accessible for our community. A special thank you to Remy Wolfe for helping, too. Stop by the Storybook Trail and enjoy this wonderful new book!
GELF 📖❤️

HHS rising senior JAG students Katherine Meggs and Katelyn Brewer returned to the HOBY Youth Leadership Seminar this past weekend at Vanderbilt University. Both students attended HOBY last summer as juniors representing HHS and they agreed this summer to serve as junior facilitators. Through their leadership and mentorship, they helped foster growth among high school juniors from across the state in the areas of personal, group, and service leadership. We are proud of them for representing HHS and continuing to inspire the next generation of leaders!

The JAG “6-of-6” Award is the highest honor in the Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) network, presented to state organizations and local programs that exceed specific benchmarks in six critical performance metrics. This means that the 2025 Seniors are meeting their goals and benchmarks. Way to go JAG students!
The six core metrics evaluated for this award are:
1. High School Graduation Rate: The percentage of JAG students who successfully graduate on time.
2. Employment Rate: The rate at which graduates secure employment after leaving high school.
3. Full-Time Employment: The percentage of working graduates who are employed full-time.
4. Total Full-Time Positive Outcomes: Students successfully transitioning into post-secondary education, the military, or full-time jobs.
5. Further Education Rate: The percentage of graduates who pursue higher education or specialized training.
6. Connectivity Rate: The overall percentage of students who are successfully engaged in work, school, or the military 12 months post-graduation.

Congratulations to all of our teachers and students on another successful year of changing lives! We are proud of the work we do to help Tennessee's best and brightest achieve their dreams and of creating Tennessee's workforce!

Two of our own competed at the State Track Meet today! Blaine Todd, a senior JAG Student and Mustang Mentor competed in the 3200 (2 Mile Run) finishing 4th and Kaylen Cary, a Sophomore JAG Student competed in the long jump, finishing 4th overall as well. Congratulations guys!! We’re so proud of you!

Congratulations to the outstanding Senior JAG and Mustang Mentors Graduates of Huntingdon High School! Your hard work, leadership, dedication, and commitment to excellence continue to inspire those around you. Wishing each of you success as you pursue your goals and make a positive impact in your community and beyond. Keep leading, learning, and shining bright — the future is yours! Best of luck to the JAG underclassmen as you transition into the next grade level. We are so proud of you - ❤️ Ginger Taylor and Bryan Dickens.

After a couple of days of competitions and networking and learning so many new faces and experiences, Brady is enjoying the closing ceremonies celebrating the past couple days.