Local AT&T Employees Team Up with High School Students to Help Them Experience the Benefits of Staying in School

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With 1.2 million American students dropping out of high school every year, AT&T Inc.* (NYSE: T) and Junior Achievement today announced the second year of the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative, including an event in Framingham. The event is part of a multimillion dollar, multiyear job shadow program to help strengthen student success and workforce readiness.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100415/CG86849)

Building on the program's success and positive student impact, students will go back to work with AT&T employees as part of the initiative's second year in Framingham. The AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative will involve students from Holliston High School and Hudson High School who will "shadow" AT&T employees during their regular work day to see firsthand the educational background and skills they will need to succeed on the job.

"We are committed to helping future generations in Framingham by showing them the importance of staying in school," said Marybeth Hawkins, New England Chapter President, Women of AT&T. "This year our goal is to again provide students with the role models and experience that will allow them to thrive in the modern workforce."

More than 75 students from Holliston High School and Hudson High School will shadow AT&T employees on April 15 at the AT&T New England offices at 550 Cochituate in Framingham. Recent findings from a report evaluating students who participated in the first year of the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative show the program is making an impact and changing attitudes about staying in school:

• All students felt that it is important to graduate from high school, and ninety-nine percent felt confident in their ability to do so months after participating in the program.
• Eighty-nine percent of students felt that participating in Job Shadow made them realize the importance of staying in school.
• Ninety-four percent indicated that they had improved their ability to set goals as a result of Job Shadow and 90 percent reported that they utilized this skill months after the program.
• Ninety-four percent agreed that their ability to identify occupations that interest them had improved as a result of Job Shadow and ninety-two percent had researched careers that interest them months after the program.

Jack E. Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA, noted, "Job shadowing not only provides students with valuable firsthand workplace experience, it provides them with mentoring and role models. These experiences help prepare our young people to effectively compete with their peers from the U.S. and around the world as the global economy becomes increasingly interdependent and interconnected."

"It is essential that students are given the opportunity to learn-by-doing in order to succeed in today's economy.  Job shadowing is one of the many ways that students can experience the skills they will need in the future," said Susan Green, Vice President, Education, of Junior Achievement of Eastern MA.

Many of the students dropping out of high school are dropping out despite the fact they have passing grades.  They simply don't see the relevance of their school work today to their future life success.  

That's why the $5.5 million Job Shadow initiative is a key pillar of the AT&T Aspire program, one of the largest-ever corporate commitments to high school retention and workforce readiness. It provides a chance for students to explore potential future careers and connect classroom learning to real life opportunities.  

The initiative is committed to reaching 100,000 high school students over 5 years. During the 2008-2009 school year, over 13,000 students in over 100 cities participated in the initiative.  

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services, the nation's fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide, and the nation's leading high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of their three-screen integration strategy, AT&T operating companies are expanding their TV entertainment offerings. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE^® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.

About Philanthropy at AT&T

For 25 years, AT&T and the AT&T Foundation have been committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its philanthropic initiatives and partnerships, AT&T supports projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; and address community needs. As the AT&T Foundation celebrates its 25^th anniversary in 2009, more than $160 million was contributed through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs in 2008 alone.

© 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

About Junior Achievement® (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 131 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.  

SOURCE AT&T Inc.