Louisiana State University To Help At-Risk High School Students Complete School And Prepare For Future With $300,000 From AT&T

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For 200 high school students in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes, this school year will mean a strong focus on providing students with the academic and social support necessary to succeed in school, the workforce, and in life. In addition, another 20 teens that have already dropped out of school will be reintegrated into an educational environment in preparation for a high school diploma and for workforce training.

This is in large thanks to the work being done through a program at the Louisiana State University's College of Human Sciences & Education. The core mission of Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited, or LSYOU, is to provide a long-term, case-managed relationship and data driven intervention into the lives of high need students to enable them to successfully graduate from high school and enter post-secondary education.

Through a competitive request for proposal process, 30 schools, school districts and non-profits, including LSYOU were selected from more than 1,100 nationwide to share in nearly $12.5 million from AT&T. Programs were evaluated based on their effectiveness in helping students graduate ready for career or college. Selected programs use evidence-based approaches to serve students and are able to demonstrate quantitative results. These contributions are a part of AT&T Aspire, the company's signature education initiative focused on school success and career readiness. With an unwavering commitment to data-driven education outcomes, AT&T Aspire has impacted more than one million students since its launch in 2008.

Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited is a program in the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education that collaborates with the School of the Coast and Environment and the College of Engineering to help at-risk students in high school by providing them with the tools and support they need to succeed. Some of the more popular activities involved science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, disciplines in hands-on projects across campus.

"Over the next five years, our state will need thousands of workers to fill both skilled and STEM-related jobs to meet the demands of the billions of dollars in new projects," stated State Representative Steve Carter. "We are fortunate to have LSYOU work with high school students to keep them in school or work with those who have dropped out but have decided to gain their GED. A strong educational support system and business partnerships are vital to keeping our communities safe and alleviating major social issues such as, hunger, crime, homelessness and poverty."

"We are fortunate that policy makers and education advocates like State Representative Steve Carter understand that the value of education goes beyond a paper diploma," said Stuart Bell, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. "Programs like LSYOU work to keep students from slipping through the cracks and expose them to new and exciting things they may never have had an opportunity to experience. This allows that student to focus on classroom study and broadens the possibilities of what they can achieve."

"It's estimated that sometime in 2015 Louisiana will have more than two million non-farm employees for the first time in its history. These jobs range from skilled workers to STEM-related jobs," said Sonia Perez, President, AT&T Louisiana. "Supporting organizations like Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited program and the work they are doing to help alleviate the dropout crisis in our state and creating a 21^st century readiness workforce is vital to our state's economy."

AT&T Aspire funding recipients include non-profits, schools and school districts around the country that will expand programs to serve additional students, to add components to strengthen the program, or to replicate in new locations. Many of the awardees deliver integrated student supports, focus on college or career preparation, and/or provide mentoring or peer-to-peer supports to help students succeed in academics and beyond.

The success of the LSYOU program is in the long-term case management of an individual student from the time of their entry into the program until high school graduation and entry into postsecondary education or a non-college career path. Support services include transportation, individual and family counseling, academic tutoring, summer school and transportation. The $300,000 Aspire education grant will be used to support the enhancement of a case managed drop-out prevention program for 200 primarily African-American youth, using long-term relationship based and data driven strategies designed to cultivate academic achievement and workforce readiness. Eighty percent of the students in 10-12th grades will be selected from high schools in the BR area that serve the neighborhoods that have the highest crime and poverty rates in the parish. In addition 20% of the students will be selected from surrounding rural schools that serve a high risk population. The 20 out-of –school youth being served will be selected from the same geographical areas.

For more information on the LSYOU program in the LSU College of Human Sciences and Education, please visit www.lsu.edu/lsyou. 

About Philanthropy at AT&T
AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. In 2013, more than $130 million was contributed or directed through corporate-, employee-, social investment- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. AT&T Aspire is AT&T's signature education initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring.

About Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited (LSYOU)
Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited is part of the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education which consists of the School of Education, the School of Human Resource Education & Workforce Development, the School of Library & Information Science, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Social Work and the University Laboratory School. Learn more about Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited at www.lsu.edu/lsyou.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.

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