Senior Rachel Chan is a member of the Job Exploration Training program at Howell High School. The JETs program, provided by the Special Education program, consists of juniors and seniors learning real life skills and applying them in job-like situations. As one of her jobs, Chan writes her very own newspaper that she calls The JET Insider that is sent out to her classmates and select other students.

“It’s how she expresses her ideas, she loves the community and she really is a good writer,” teacher Ms. Megan Fowler-Ouillette says.

Last school year, Chan would visit the Main Four staff at their weekly Monday meetings. She loved to watch how the staff ran the newspaper and she pitched valuable story ideas. This gave her a lot of inspiration in writing the JET insider.

“You guys really know what you’re [Main Four staff] doing,” Chan says.

Chan enjoys reading the online and print versions of the Main Four at home and in school.  

“I think it’s great [The Main Four], I like how they put their stories together,” Chan says.

Chan writes about a variety of topics; events going on locally and in the high school, student highlights, and fun subjects such as what to do in the wintertime. She does her own research and voices aloud the stories as Ms. Fowler-Ouillette scripts them. Chan enjoys picking out the colors of her editions and writing her unique headlines.

“She’s really interested in the interview process, she wants to be involved in the newspaper,” senior Natalie VanMullekom says.

Along with writing the JET Insider, Chan does other jobs such as recycling and mail delivery. While these are imperative skills for the real world, Chan gets the opportunity to acquire the skills and does something she enjoys at the same time. Students and teachers can easily read the JET Insider by stopping in room D-8.

“The JET Insider is a really good, positive thing for her. It’s a way for Rachel to contribute to the JETs program,” Ms. Fowler-Ouillette says.