City Year, AT&T Team Up to Keep Kids in School and on Track to Succeed

BOSTON, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- City Year, a national organization that unites young people for a year of service in high-need urban schools, is teaming up with AT&T to help keep students in school and on track to succeed.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110714/NE35509LOGO )

AT&T has contributed nearly $1.2 million to help support City Year's year-round work in schools, including the organization's role in an innovative partnership designed to help turn around the nation's most challenged schools. City Year's Diplomas Now partnership includes City Year, Communities In Schools, and Johns Hopkins Talent Development Secondary.

AT&T's contribution will support students in Chicago, IL, Columbus, OH, Little Rock, AR, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, CA

"Through Aspire, we are driving innovation in education  by supporting proven programs that address the high school dropout crisis," said Beth Adcock Shiroishi, Vice President of Sustainability and Philanthropy, AT&T. "The Diplomas Now program brings together three leading dropout prevention organizations and their combined impact will help even more students succeed."

"We are deeply grateful to AT&T for its generous investment in City Year and for its national leadership on addressing the high school dropout crisis," said City Year CEO and Co-Founder Michael Brown. "Every 26 seconds a student drops out of high school in America – it's an education and economic crisis that we have to turn around. City Year AmeriCorps members – who are near-peers to the students they serve and highly motivated to get results – can help students get back on track to graduate by dedicating a year of full-time service in high-need urban schools. We are so grateful to partner with AT&T in this important work."

The funding will support City Year's work with students in five cities: Chicago, Columbus, Little Rock, Los Angeles and Sacramento. In three of these markets, the funding will be used to impact students in four schools where Diplomas Now is in place – Thomas Jefferson High School and Manual Arts Senior High School in Los Angeles, Linden McKinley STEM Academy in Columbus, and John Hope College Preparatory High School in Chicago.

A total of 1,300 students will receive direct support, including academic and social-emotional interventions for rising tenth grade students provided by a team of City Year corps members as part of their year of service. In addition, the contribution will support:

• an early warning system that identifies students who are falling off track and allows teachers and corps members the opportunity to intervene;
• a personalized learning environment with inter-disciplinary teacher teams;
• instructional programs that are linked to college readiness standards; and
• high school readiness courses and intensive case management for the students with the highest needs.

The funding for the sites in Little Rock and Sacramento will be used to deploy U.S. AmeriCorps members as tutors, mentors and role models. All City Year corps members proudly serve as AmeriCorps members, a federal program that deploys community volunteers and full-time national service members to meet pressing local challenges.

The support is part of AT&T Aspire, AT&T's $350 million commitment to education. With more than 1 million students impacted since its launch in 2008, the AT&T Aspire program is one of the nation's largest corporate commitments focused on helping more students graduate from high school ready for college and careers.  AT&T Aspire drives innovation in education through investing locally in organizations making a measureable difference in stemming the high school dropout crisis; connecting people through its employees and customers; and seeking exponential change through national partnerships and technology and innovation.

In 24 U.S. cities and through two international affiliates, City Year corps members, diverse 17-24 year olds who dedicate a year of service in high-need schools, serve as tutors, mentors and role models for students who need extra care and attention. Wearing their signature red jackets, diverse teams of City Year AmeriCorps arrive before the bell rings and stay until the last student goes home—helping to transform a school's culture with targeted interventions, passion, energy and idealism.

The Diplomas Now initiative unites three organizations – Johns Hopkins Talent Development Secondary, City Year and Communities In Schools, which all have proven track records of improving school success and student achievement, to create a pioneering secondary school partnership focused on meeting the holistic needs of all students in grades 6 through 12. The partnership uses real-time student performance data to identify the students that need help, and to determine the most effective interventions to support them.

About City Year: City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out.  In more than 20 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, our teams of young AmeriCorps leaders support students by focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs that keep kids in school and on track to graduate.

About Philanthropy at AT&T: AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its philanthropic initiatives, AT&T has a long history of supporting projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; and address community needs. In 2012, more than $131 million was contributed through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs.

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SOURCE City Year