Local AT&T Employees Host 11 Job Shadow Events with 70 High School Students in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island

November 11, 2009 12:16 PM EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With 1.2 million American students dropping out of high school every year, AT&T* and Junior Achievement continue to team up for the second year of the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091111/CG09507)

Three high schools will be hosted by AT&T employees in enterprise sales, AT&T owned retail channel and NY-NJ network on November 10 in New York City and Woodbury, N.Y.; part of a multimillion dollar, multiyear national job shadow program to help strengthen student success and workforce readiness. Students will go back to "work" with AT&T colleagues during their regular day to see firsthand the educational background and skills they will need to succeed on the job.

Students from the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Enterprise, Business and Technology High School will "shadow" AT&T employees at company-owned locations in the following Brooklyn communities:

    --  Bayridge store on 86th Street
    --  Bensonhurst store on 86th Street
    --  Flatbush store on Flatbush Avenue
    --  Montague store on Montague Street
    --  Sunset Park store on 5th Avenue

    --  Fulton Street store on Fulton Street

Students from the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Enterprise Erasmus Hall Campus will "shadow" with AT&T employees at company-owned stores in the following areas of Manhattan:

    --  Madison Avenue and 48th Street
    --  Rockefeller Center
    --  Park Avenue

    --  Broadway

Employees working in AT&T's administration building in Woodbury, NY will host students from the Kings Park High School, who will get a chance to see and hear real-life work experiences from employees in enterprise sales, local wireless network and AT&T company-owned retail channel.

"Based on the tremendous success of previous Job Shadow events held earlier this year; we decided to widen the program with network and enterprise sales colleagues who can give additional perspective on future careers in wireless, education requirements, what it takes to succeed and most important, sharing their personal stories," said Tom DeVito, vice president and general manager for AT&T in New York and New Jersey and NYC Junior Achievement board member.

"Competition for good paying jobs will continue to be fierce and that makes it more important than ever for us to prepare our young people for the workforce," said John Jefferson, Vice President, AT&T External Affairs, NYC. "This partnership between leaders in business, education and the local community will provide a meaningful stepping stone to area students."

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.

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 a future career. 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 learnings 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 25th 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.

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