Program Is Part of $100 Million AT&T Aspire Initiative to Promote High School Success and Workforce Readiness

DALLAS, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an effort to encourage American high school students to stay in school and increase their competitiveness with counterparts from other countries, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Junior Achievement today announced the launch of a multimillion-dollar, multiyear job shadow initiative that will match 100,000 students with more than 50,000 AT&T employees to help strengthen student success and workforce readiness.

The five-year, $5.5 million initiative formally kicks off today in Dallas, where students from Adamson High School will join forces with AT&T executives, including AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson. With 1.2 million American students dropping out of high school every year, initiatives such as the AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow teach students about careers and help them see firsthand the educational background and skills they will need to succeed on the job.

'One of the best ways we can help our young people succeed in high school is to ensure that they see the connection between what they learn in school and what's required in the workplace,' said Stephenson. 'Here in Dallas and across our company, the people of AT&T are proud to join forces with Junior Achievement to help students make that connection and go on to build great careers.'

The AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow is committing 400,000 employee volunteer hours to reach 100,000 students in grades 9-12. The program will bring students into the world of business through classroom instruction followed by on-site mentoring in which students get to interact with a wide range of AT&T employees including technical and customer service representatives, product and service managers, and marketing and advertising executives.

In this comprehensive effort, local Junior Achievement offices will work closely with local AT&T operations to set up job shadow opportunities between students and AT&T employees at AT&T facilities.

'No matter what career they ultimately choose, the JA Job Shadow experience helps kids become 'work ready' by taking them into the workplace and showing them how education and training translate to success on the job,' said Sean C. Rush, president and CEO of JA Worldwide.